


Five Nights at Freddy's-The Black Hood

by MarimbaBuddy



Series: Five Nights at Freddy's-Novel Series Continuation (FANFIC) [3]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Gen, Mostly original characters, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:01:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 40,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26525644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarimbaBuddy/pseuds/MarimbaBuddy
Summary: Thirty years after Freddy Fazbear's Pizza closed its doors, a new restaurant opens for business, promising to help "forget the past and move on to a brighter future." Still, some people are suspicious that history will still repeat itself. Is this new restaurant indeed a new and better beginning for the Fazbear franchise, or is someone on the inside hiding sinister motives?
Series: Five Nights at Freddy's-Novel Series Continuation (FANFIC) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1901248
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	1. A New Home

**Author's Note:**

> Well, after some encouragement to keep writing from a fellow writer, I have this idea in mind for another story. As with my previous story's beginning, this is still in its early planning stage, but I wanted to start writing it to see how it goes. If you like the direction I'm going (or have any other comments), feel free to let me know.
> 
> Also, note that despite the appearance of a few familiar characters/ideas, this story does NOT take place in any settings from the new Fazbear Frights series. Rather, it is actually a continuation of the original novel series just like my previous stories. While I wanted to go in a new direction and write something that features a mostly original cast of characters, I figured it would be more fun to have it still take place in a familiar setting, so keep your eyes peeled for Easter eggs!
> 
> Happy reading, and happy Friday!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: As stated at the beginning of my previous story, all rights go to Scott Cawthon and Kira Breed-Wrisley for the particular FNAF novel canon in which this story is a fan-written continuation of. There is no monetary gain from this story, only the ideas of a fan and aspiring writer.

MONDAY, JUNE 26, 2017, 4:46 PM

" _Hi, you've reached Chris. I'm currently unable to take your call. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you whenever I can. Thank you."_

BEEP.

_"Hey, it's me. I got your message. Um, are you really sure that it's actually still there? Nobody's set foot in that place for almost twenty years. Trust me, I was there when it happened. Everything's been burned up and swept away. I can't see how anyone could find anything in that wreckage. Last I heard, all of it had been collected and secured. But I know you've been working hard and based on what you told me, I agree that there is something fishy going on, so I trust your judgment. If you're right and they missed some, then I completely agree. Nobody else can get their hands on it. You've put way too much effort into this to let all of your hard work be ruined. I'd love to help you, but I can't get away right now. Not with the holiday weekend coming up. Business, you know? Besides, I don't even know what to look for. My wife does, but she's in Arizona for a few weeks, not that she'd want to go back to that place either. Maybe I'll try your cell. Yes, I know we talked about not calling on your cell because it risks blowing your cover, but I really want to check in with you one last time before you do this, although knowing you, you've probably already left by now and it doesn't matter, but in case I can't reach you...no matter what happens, please be careful. You're playing a dangerous game that I know well. Best of luck. I'll see you when you get back."_

END OF MESSAGE.

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

"Not yet, 'Liv."

Olivia made a pouting face at her mother and crossed her arms. "You said we'd be there by now!"

"Just a little bit longer, sweetheart."

"You said that last time when we crossed that bridge!"

"Ugh! Mom, are you sure we can't tie her to the roof of the car?" came her brother's irritated voice from the other side of the backseat.

"Josh, knock it off."

"Well, I'm sorry, but she's been talking nonstop ever since we crossed into this-"

"Josh!" his father barked from the driver's seat.

Josh fell silent and continued scrolling through his phone, checking to see if his girlfriend back home had responded to his last text. He still couldn't believe that they were actually moving. What was wrong with Minnesota? It was a beautiful state, lots of fun activities for a fifteen-year-old boy to do with his friends and girlfriend like hiking, sneaking into R-rated movies, going to the park, and just being stupid and idiotic for laughs. Now, he and his relationship had to suffer for it. He was certain that was the true job of every parent...to do everything possible to make their children's lives miserable. So far, his own deserved an award. No, it was actually his dad's boss's fault for relocating the job.

"Well, kids, welcome to St. Louis!" announced their father.

"I wanna go see the park!" Olivia exclaimed, turning her attention once more to the surroundings outside as they passed. "I wanna go visit all of the playgrounds! I wanna-!"

"Calm down, darling," said their mother. "There'll be plenty of time to do all of that once we get settled in."

"Yay!" she screeched, causing the others to flinch.

Josh grunted. It wasn't that impressive. St. Louis, a very wannabe city in his opinion, with the only notable landmark being a giant arch that did little to symbolize the city. They should've learned from masters like New York and Paris. Meanwhile, Olivia practically had her nose and hands glued to the window, watching every single tree and house go by as if it were a candy shop. She was so excited to explore every nook and cranny of this new, exciting place that she could hardly keep herself from shaking.

"Kendall, you've been awfully quiet. How are you feeling?" asked their mother.

Kendall said nothing. Sandwiched awkwardly between his ecstatic younger sister and irritable older brother, he kept his gaze focused on the road ahead of them, trying his best not to get involved in the tension mounting around him. He felt like Switzerland caught between the allied and axis forces.

"I'm okay," he said softly. "Just tired."

"Didn't sleep well?" asked their father. Kendall shook his head.

"What's the matter? Too many fantasies about being a space pirate exploring all of Mom's stolen treasures?"

Kendall gave his brother a death glare. He'd grown out of that years ago. As soon as he grew old enough to realize that he didn't know how to build a spaceship, he figured he would settle for learning about other things instead, how real-world contraptions worked. It fascinated him to learn about the inner workings of things as simple as a doorknob, how it was craftily designed to lock and unlock as opposed to simply deciding when and for whom it wanted to open. He wasn't sure where such an interest would lead him in life, but one thing was for certain: no matter what, he didn't want to grow up to be the self-absorbed jerk that his brother was.

"Ooh, look!" Olivia shouted, pointing frantically out the window. "Look at that!"

The five family members looked out the window. They were driving through the outskirts of the city toward their new home, passing by the tall buildings of downtown St. Louis.

"Yeah, it's amazing, isn't it?" said Josh flatly. "I've never seen skyscrapers before. Let's all admire the wonderful creations of civilized society. Ooh, ahh!"

His mother gave him an irritated look as he tried reburying himself into his phone. She turned to her daughter. "What is it, sweetie?"

"Right there! That place with the pretty colors!"

With the new description, a building near one of the towers caught everyone's attention. It was a very futuristic looking building standing about five stories tall with heavily tinted windows completely covering the front and sides. The front doors were almost completely obscured by the heavy traffic of people flocking in and out. Above the door was a very large sign featuring the face of a smiling brown bear. On either side of the face were a pair of words illuminated in bold, neon blue.

"Freddy Fazbear's Pizza World?" their father read aloud.

"Is that like some pizza place for kids?" asked Josh.

"I don't know."

"I wanna go!" shouted Olivia, bouncing up and down in her seat. "Can we go, please? Can we? Can we? Can we?"

"Not today," said their father, "but soon. Now, please sit still, sweetheart. You're rocking the car."

Olivia wanted to say something else, but she did as she was told, her long, brown bangs spilling onto her face.

The drive continued for another fifteen minutes before they finally pulled onto a side street. Something that immediately stuck out was the trees. They were everywhere. It seemed like every front yard had two trees. Kendall pondered how annoying it would be to have to mow around those all the time.

 _Maybe if the wheels had enough traction and mobility, it wouldn't really be a problem_ , he thought.

Josh stared at the houses as they passed. Many of them were much bigger than he thought. They'd lived in a simple two-story house back home, and some of these had three stories. He fell back against the seat and breathed a sigh of amazement. Perhaps if their new house was large enough, this may not be quite as bad as he thought.

After another minute of driving through the subdivision, answering no to all of Olivia's guesses at which house was theirs, they pulled up into the driveway.

"And here we are!" their father announced proudly.

Before them stood a large house, the outer wall consisting of stone which boasted large windows and mulberry bushes lining the outside stopping at the adjoined garage. The second level was almost as wide as the ground level, with two evenly-spaced windows within the sea of stones.

"It's so big!" said Olivia with a squeal.

"Indeed it is," said their father with a smile. "Welcome to your new home."

The car stopped and Olivia threw open the door and hopped outside, running into the front yard and jumping up and down with glee. She loved it here already. She was still sad that they had to move away from her old house and friends, but she was too excited about the new adventures she would have here. It made her joyful.

The others exited the car much slower. As their father watched his daughter play in the yard excitedly, he heard a small breath from behind him. He turned to see his wife leaning against the car, her face staring down at the ground. He approached her slowly.

"Emma. What's wrong?"

After a few moments, she turned to look at him with pure fear in her eyes.

"Richard…" she said in a soft voice. "That restaurant we passed back there. Isn't that the same place with those singing animatronics? The place where those poor kids were K-I-L-L-E-D?"

Josh huffed, slamming his car door. He hated when his parents lamely tried to act secretive as if he didn't know how to spell.

"The name sounds familiar," he said, "but it can't be the same. That place went out of business thirty years ago. I'm sure it's just a coincidence."

"Did you say singing?" Olivia asked loudly, causing both of them to jump. "Who's singing?"

"Just some animals, darling," said Richard.

"Ooh, singing animals? Where?"

"In a restaurant," said Emma.

"I wanna go! Can we go now?"

"No, honey. We need to unpack first. We'll explore later on. I promise. Now go grab your bag."

"Aww!" she cried, stomping away. Josh practically threw her light suitcase onto the ground in front of her in an effort to find his own. She grabbed it and trotted inside as best as she could, nearly tripping over the front step in the process.

Kendall stood motionless near the car's side door, watching his parents give each other worried looks. Something was wrong, he could tell. At only eleven years old, he wasn't yet the brightest bulb, like he one day aspired to be, but he could tell when something wasn't right. It started when they passed that restaurant. _Could that be it?_

"Hey!" came his brother's startling voice. "Didn't you hear me, Kendork? Your suitcase is right there!"

Kendall turned to his old brother, who was pointing at the suitcase lying lopsided on the ground.

"I'm not your bellhop. You're in charge of your own suitcase... _and_ all those geeky books you've got in them!"

Kendall rolled his eyes and went to grab his suitcase from the ground, but he couldn't stop looking back at his parents. Though his father didn't seem to take much notice, his mother looked more worried than he'd ever seen. He pulled his suitcase upward and the unmistakable noise of books falling onto the ground came from beside him.

"Uh-oh. Cleanup in aisle eleven!" Josh announced in a voice of mock concern as he walked toward the house with his own bag.

"Do you need help there, sport?" Richard asked. Kendall shook his head.

"I'm okay."

Richard nodded and grabbed his and Emma's suitcases from the car. Taking her silence as a cue, he walked passed her toward the house. Emma continued staring off into the distance, hand clutching at her chest. As he began picking up his books, Kendall watched her with keen interest. He couldn't put a finger on it, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was holding something back.

"Mom?"

She blinked and turned to her son.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Are you okay?"

She nodded and put on a sad smile. "Yes, I'm fine. Just...getting used to everything. That's all. Need help?"

"I'm fine."

"Okay. Let me know if you change your mind." She turned and followed the rest of the family inside the house.

Kendall turned and resumed picking up the clutter of books on the ground. Some of them remained shut, others had fallen open. He picked up his copy of _Electricity and Magnetism_ and saw that one of the pages was bent and torn. He groaned. It was his favorite chapter on fluorescent bulbs. He reached out a hand and began smoothing the page.

"Hey!"

Kendall perked his head up. Turning, he was startled by a face peering at him between two bushes that separated him from the neighbor's. It was a boy who looked to be around the same age. His hair was blond and disheveled, his eyes bright blue and his cheeks peppered with freckles atop a large, amused smile.

"Do you need any help?" he asked.

"No," said Kendall. "I'm okay."

"Are you sure? 'Cause I can help! I'm bored!"

"I'm fine."

"Come on! I've been waiting to see the new neighbors all week! My mom and dad have been talking about it."

Kendall couldn't help but notice his head bouncing up and down when he spoke, perhaps a result from rocking back and forth on his heels. The boy sounded like he had a very excitable nature that Kendall wasn't sure he found interesting or annoying.

"Ok."

"Cool!" He disappeared from in between the bushes. About ten seconds later, he slowly reappeared around the edge of the divider, limping slowly into view with a small walking cane. "Sorry," he said. "I woulda been here sooner, but...you know…" He gestured to his right leg, which looked noticeably thinner than his other.

Kendall was always told not to make fun of or stare at people with disabilities. He didn't intend to do it, but before he could stop himself, he bluntly asked, "What happened to your leg?"

"It's always been like that," said the boy as he finally made it over to him. "I'm disabled."

"That's too bad," said Kendall, beginning to regret his feelings of annoyance earlier.

"It's ok," said the boy with a smile. "A lot of the other kids make fun of me, but the adults are always very nice. My dad even gets discounts offa me in restaurants, too. I'm Cameron, by the way. Cameron Wilde."

"Kendall Philips."

"Where are you from?"

"Minnesota."

"Cool! I'm from...well...here!" He pointed at the ground. "Lived here my whole life."

"That's nice," said Kendall, trying to sound interested while he continued picking up his books.

"Here, let me help," said Cameron, plopping himself down and reaching for some of the books. He picked one up and looked at the cover. "Ooh, you like lawnmowers?"

"Not really," said Kendall, "but I think they're interesting."

"Me, too," said Cameron. "Every time our contractor comes over to cut our grass, I always like watching him. It looks so easy on some of these new machines."

"Yeah, it does," Kendall agreed, and then realized something. "Wait, so you just sit up in your room and watch him?"

Cameron nodded. "Yeah, I don't really get out all that much 'cause of my leg. No one really wants to play with me, and I don't have any siblings. Do you?"

"Yeah," said Kendall. "A brother and a sister."

Cameron huffed. "You're lucky."

"I don't always feel lucky," said Kendall.

"Well, you are. At least you don't get bored."

"Don't be on that," said Kendall.

"Kendall?" called a voice from the doorway of the house. It was his mother. "Who are you talking to?"

"One of the neighbors," said Kendall.

"The neighbors?" Emma came into view, expecting to see an adult talking to one of her children, but was surprised and a little relieved to see that it was another child. "Oh, hello. What's your name?"

"I'm Cameron! I live next door!" Cameron replied happily.

Emma opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by a gust of wind blowing past her leg.

"Hi! I'm Olivia!"

"I'm Cameron!"

"Do you want to play?"

"Why would a ten-year-old want to play with someone who's only six?" came Josh's voice from behind Emma.

"I'm eleven," said Cameron.

"Still a kid to me," said Josh as he turned and walked right back into the house.

"Sorry about him," said Kendall. "He's always made fun of us, and it's been even worse since he found out we were moving."

"You're still lucky," said Cameron, watching Olivia as she eyed him like candy.

"You're cute!" she said, making Kendall snicker and Cameron raise his eyebrows.

"Olivia! Let's not scare our new neighbors right off the bat!" said Emma.

"It's okay, ma'am," said Cameron. "I don't mind." Olivia giggled.

"Do you want to play?" she asked him again.

"Sorry, 'Liv, but you still have to unpack," said Emma.

"Yeah, I should be getting home anyway," said Cameron. "It's good to meet you."

"Good to meet you, too, Cameron," said Emma as she guided her pouting daughter back into the house. Cameron turned back to Kendall, who had just finished putting all of his books back into his bag.

"Your family's really nice," he said.

"Yeah, they can be," said Kendall. "Sorry about my sister."

"Don't be. I like her. I was beginning to think I wasn't that good looking," said Cameron, giving his hair a quick brush, making both of them laugh. "Well, I gotta go. See you guys around!" He picked up his cane and slowly limped back around the driveway divider.

Kendall stared after him for a few moments, pondering his thoughts, before turning to take his bag into the house.

* * *

_Where is it?_

As his dirty, rough hands scoured through the last of the burned remains, the thought occurred to him that it may not be there at all. His heart sank at the thought. Perhaps their intel was wrong and it wasn't there, to begin with. Had he been tricked? Ever since he overheard that conversation between his bosses, his mind had been in a constant state of fear and panic. They'd mentioned in unusually excited voices that they'd finally tracked down what would finally "make things right." He never trusted them, and given his knowledge, he knew precisely what they were referring to. He had to get to it first or everything would be ruined.

Now here he was standing in the ruins of a long-forgotten remnant of the past, a place or horror and trauma that no one would ever fall victim to again, desperately searching for what he hoped would still be there, some justification for traveling to the other side of the country and potentially arousing suspicion. If they really knew where it was like they said, that was dangerous. Everything was at stake. He'd briefly considered whether it was even true. _Perhaps they're wrong. Perhaps nothing is here at all and I'm getting all worked up for nothing._ But he knew deep down that it was true. They sounded too confident.

As he continued rummaging through burned metal, something caught his eye. It was something blackened but clear and slightly curved. As he leaned in closer to examine it further, an undeniable stench filled his nostrils. He smiled. He'd finally found it.

His relief was so great that he didn't notice a shadowy figure approaching him from behind. As he began to reach for the object, a sudden burst of pain in the back of his head made his world go black.


	2. The First Week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phillips family gets acquainted with their new life as curiosities begin to arise.

FRIDAY, JUNE 30, 2017, 9:43 AM

" _Hi, you've reached Chris. I'm currently unable to take your call. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you whenever I can. Thank you."_

BEEP.

_"Hey, it's me. Are you okay? You haven't been answering any of my calls or texts. What happened out there? It's not like you to go silent like this. Please call me when you get the chance. I'm starting to get a little nervous about this whole thing. Talk to you later."_

END OF MESSAGE.

* * *

The Phillips' first week in their new house was largely uneventful and their adjustments toward their new environment varied. Olivia was ecstatic about nearly everything: the park down the street, a tree a couple of houses over that looked like a giraffe, the stray cat who wandered in and out of their yard on a daily basis. Everything was a new adventure for her, which she gladly reported to all of her family. However, there was no subject that was rambled on about more than the boy next door, with whom she played with every day. They played anything that popped into her mind, whether it was a simple game of hide-and-seek to a role-playing game of being adventurers fighting for their lives in the Amazon. Emma expressed concern over some of their games for being too rough for the partially-crippled boy, but Cameron assured her that it didn't bother him at all and he loved playing with her, which made Olivia's eyes glow brightly in joy.

Kendall found himself spending most of his time inside or in the backyard, trying to keep away from all of the noise going on elsewhere in the house and bury himself in his reading and discoveries. He found out that their new house contained 60-watt filament light bulbs in the dining room and hallways, giving the rooms a much brighter appearance than what he was used to. He heard from somewhere that they were the bulbs of the future, that they were supposed to be more energy-efficient or something. He decided that he would keep his eyes open for any books or online articles on the subject.

So far, he'd made the backyard his safe haven for reading and observing the surrounding yards. He noticed that the neighbors opposite of the Wildes had automatic lights and sprinklers in their backyard. He gazed in amazement as the sprinkler heads rose up out of the ground, gave the grass and plants a good soaking, and then disappeared back to their secret depths. He wondered what made them work like that, how they received signals from whatever source told them when to activate, how durable such a fragile connection would be in the rain. Of course, that would have to wait for another day, for there was something else that had grabbed his attention.

Josh was having the hardest time adjusting to this new life. Every day, he would barricade himself in his bedroom with his stereo on and his phone never leaving his hand except when he needed to go to the bathroom. Aside from eating meals, none of the others saw him that much, which prompted his parents to sit down one night after dinner and have a small talk about him.

"All he cares about are his friends and girlfriend back home," said Emma. "If we don't do something, he may one day decide to hitchhike his way back up to Minnesota. He needs a push to let him know that we're serious about this being our new life...and about his future."

"I know," said Richard. "And I think I have a solution in mind."

Richard hadn't just been relocated, he'd been promoted at work. Being a stockbroker, his work in the financial sector was critical, especially since things had taken a lousy turn as of late. His boss back home had made the decision that it was time to take action, hence the move to his company's main headquarters in St. Louis. Thanks to the promotion, Richard was now a leader of a new team of recruits. Though his first few days were definitely different than what he was used to, he had hopes for the benefits his new position would bring him.

Emma was unemployed, which she didn't mind. With three children and a husband who successfully provided most of the income, she had no quarrels about being a stay-at-home mom, especially since she did have her own side business of selling cosmetics online, which allowed her enough money to provide some additional amenities, meet a few new friends, and even rent a car. As a whole, she was adjusting well to their new life, aside from a sense of dread simmering deep in her stomach concerning the restaurant they'd seen on their way into town.

By the end of the first week, things had begun to settle as the new normal for most of them. The children were eating breakfast with their father while their mother was working up a few more eggs and bacon.

"So how's your boyfriend?" asked Josh with a smirk.

"He's not my boyfriend! We're just getting married is all!" Olivia said, glaring at her older brother from across the table.

"Uh-huh," he said with a smirk. "So when's the wedding?"

"Next month, and you're not invited!" she shot back with arms folded.

"Aww, but who's gonna eat all the cake?" Josh teased. "Oh, I know. Kendall will! He loves stuffing his face with anything he can find."

"Wrong. Kendall's gonna be whacking his brother upside the head with his heaviest book," said Kendall, briefly taking his eyes out of the book.

"Speaking of books," said Emma, "put that thing down. You're at the breakfast table. And Josh, if I hear you tease your sister one more time, I'm taking your phone away!"

Josh groaned and turned his gaze to his mobile device once more. "Sheesh, you make a little joke, and the humor cops come crashing down on 'ya."

"Yeah, well, I'd hold back your next wisecrack, buddy," said Richard, "'cause if you think you're spending all summer sitting around the house playing on that thing, you've got another think coming."

Josh looked up at his father half-confused and half-nervous. "Really?"

"Oh, yes," said Richard, eyes locked firmly with his eldest son's. "Do you remember when we discussed how it was time for you to start helping out around here?"

"Like do more housework?" asked Josh, rolling his eyes.

"That too," said Richard, "but I was actually referring to getting a job."

Josh's eyes widened. He sat upright in his chair for the first time. "What?!"

"You heard me," said Richard. "You're fifteen. It's time you learn about the responsibilities of life, and getting a summer job is a good start."

"But I don't want a job right now!" Josh protested, returning his father's glare. "Working's for adults!"

"Oh, but you _are_ an adult now, aren't you?" Emma chimed in. "I mean, that's what you always tell us when we set a curfew, isn't it?"

Josh turned to his mother and gave her the death glare. If there was one thing in the world he absolutely hated, it was when his parents used reverse psychology on him. His fists clenched, nearly breaking the phone still in hand. Kendall and Olivia both sat silently watching the drama unfold before them, neither one daring to get caught in the crossfire.

"Why would I want to get a job when I can't even work full time?" he argued.

"Because it's good experience," said Richard. "Besides, I already have a place in mind."

Emma turned to her husband in confusion. _He didn't mention that before._

"Where?" Josh grumbled.

"Freddy Fazbear's Pizza World."

Emma's eyes went wide in shock and her mouth hung open. Kendall took notice of his mother's reaction and studied her face, hoping to gain insight into this mysterious behavior. Olivia had a smile on her face. She remembered the restaurant that they passed by the day they moved in. The mere mention of the name brought excitement to her giddy heart. Josh was taken aback by his father's suggestion.

"You mean that kiddie pizza place?" he asked.

"It's not a kiddie place," said Richard. "I've done some browsing online and it looks like it hosts activities and entertainment for all ages. And guess what? They're currently hiring."

"Oh, really? They're hiring? That's dandy," said Josh in a mocking tone. "Lots of jobs are hiring right now."

"Yes, but most of them require you to be at least eighteen years old," said Richard. "Trust me, son. I've done some research. This is the only job in the area willing to hire a high school student with no experience right now."

"Richard," said Emma. "Are you sure about this?"

He turned to his wife, confused by her concerned look. "Honey, we discussed this, remember? It's time for him to get experience."

"I know, but _there_?"

His eyes narrowed. "Okay, what is it with you and this place? It's not the same as that other restaurant from when you were a kid."

"Not here!" she said sharply through gritted teeth, gesturing to the children with her eyes. Richard glanced at his kids, all of whom were watching them, clearly sensing another argument. Olivia looked scared, Kendall looked curious, and Josh looked slightly amused. Richard looked back at his wife and nodded into the living room. The two of them got up and walked out of the kitchen.

"Is Mom okay?" Olivia asked as she continued to gaze after her parents.

"I don't know," said Josh, getting up. "It's Mom. She's always weird about stuff like this, like when she didn't want me to go into the rich kids' neighborhood on Halloween 'cause she said it was 'too eerie.' Who knows?"

He placed his dishes in the sink somewhat forcefully and began to walk back to his bedroom. As he did, he began to think about how unusual the situation actually was. _She and Dad usually agree on stuff like this_ , he thought. _It's like they're a team of cops always cracking down on you, making sure you're doing what you're supposed to._ He shrugged. _Oh, well. Maybe there's hope in getting outta this job thing after all._

But as he reached his bedroom and heard a fresh batch of arguing from his parents below, he remembered cringing for the first time in a while. _Still, this is getting pretty intense._

Kendall finished his breakfast and slipped out the back door and into the backyard, eager to avoid the verbal battle that was unfolding inside. His parents never argued too much, but when they did, it could get intense. He walked over to the giant oak tree in the back corner of the yard and sat down with his book on basic robotics. He'd never really given them much thought before, but when his mother insisted on buying a Roomba for the house, he figured it would be helpful to know more about the self-activating machine that would be vacuuming their house on its own at three o'clock every other afternoon, especially since Olivia would likely be driving their parents up the wall with questions about it.

He opened up to the chapter on design. He was keen to discover how the inner mechanisms worked. He found it intriguing that something which wasn't actually alive could still be made to operate in a certain way that seemed human. _How does it work? Are they just made to accomplish a certain task with the focus of an inventor while being mindless to the world around them? Or do they ever stop and wonder what life is like outside of their menial work?_

He looked down at some of the diagrams illustrated on the page, featuring random parts and defining terms. He flipped a few pages and came to a page on sensors and AI capabilities. It explained how robots interact with the environment, how they use the information they receive to compute their actions and perform their tasks. He considered further how it was possible to create such a device, one that could actually read and interact with its surroundings. Furthermore, he wondered whether or not the future would someday hold an answer to the big question: will robots ever become sentient? _Will they ever be able to stop their programmed duties and just take a moment to look around at their world and say-?_

"Hey!" A loud, sonorous voice came from nearby, causing Kendall to jump so violently that his book fell to the ground with a loud crash. Groaning, he turned to see the amused face of Cameron Wilde peering over at him from above the fence separating their backyards. "Sorry. Did I scare you?"

"No, I'm always this jumpy when I'm reading," said Kendall, trying to hide his sarcasm as he went to pick up his book. He found his page and began to smooth it out when he sensed a presence nearby. He saw Cameron now standing right next to him, hovering over him.

"H-how-?"

"There's a gap in the fence right there. See it?" Cameron pointed at a narrow hole near the back corner of the yard. Kendall squinted in confusion.

 _How did I never notice that?_ His eyes widened. _How long has he known about that? And how did he manage to get over here so fast with his cane?_

"What'cha reading?" Cameron asked.

"A book," said Kendall.

"What's it about?" Cameron glanced at the cover. "Robots? Cool. Like the ones in movies? Or comic books?"

"No," said Kendall. "Like those automatic vacuum cleaners."

"Oh," replied Cameron, sounding disappointed. "I thought maybe it was a book on live robots."

"Live robots?"

"Yeah, the ones that move around and actually look like people or animals. Kind of like in that one movie about the apocalypse. What was it called?"

" _Rise of the Sentients_?" Kendall guessed, and Cameron nodded.

"Yeah, that one. Those robots were really creepy."

Kendall remembered it clearly. Being so young when it first came out, he remembered being afraid more than anything as he decided to brave his first scary movie with his parents one night while huddled against his mother's arm throughout the entire movie. It was about a sinister inventor who tried to take over the world and "fix" humanity's fragile brokenness by introducing a way to live life as a mechanical hybrid only to have the plan backfire horribly when the robots decide to capture the world for themselves, leaving the fate of the world in the hands of a small team of researchers and guards led by a brave journalist who leads the fight of man vs. machine. Looking back, it certainly had its cheesy moments which prevented it from being a big hit like _The Terminator_ , though it still had a bit of a cult following and the lead actor was given praise for portraying his character so believably. _What was his name again? That guy with the red hair? Carl Baker or something?_

"Where's your sister?" asked Cameron.

"Inside," said Kendall. "I hear you're getting married," he added with a smirk.

Cameron's eyes went wide. "Oh, she's pretty serious about it, is she?" Kendall nodded. "Well, looks like I need to tell my parents I need to go tuxedo shopping. I wouldn't want her to think I'm a slob for the rest of our lives. Just think of all the shopping sprees she'll drag me to when we get older!"

Kendall scoffed as he imagined his little sister in her teen years, worrying about what to wear and asking how she looked in nearly everything.

"Hey, my parents are taking me to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza World on the fourth. You guys coming?" Cameron asked.

Kendall froze. So far, that name had caused his mother nothing but worry, and him nothing but curiosity. He was unaware of what the place was exactly, aside from being some kind of pizzeria. It didn't make sense. _What's so creepy about a pizzeria, anyway?_ But then he remembered his parents discussing animatronics, robots that, like Cameron said, "move around and actually look like people or animals." _Could that be it?_ He looked into Cameron's eyes, which were focused on him waiting for a response.

"Hello?" said Cameron. "Anybody home up there? Freddy Fazbear's is hosting a big event on the fourth of July. My parents are taking me. I've never been there before. They said that there are some handicapped amenities there, whatever that means. Are you guys coming?"

Kendall shook his head. "I...don't know."

"Let me know if you are. We could check it out together."

"CAMERON!"

A high-pitched squeal echoed across the yard as a wide-eyed Olivia came rushing toward them, her lime green summer skirt flapping in the wind. Before Cameron could respond, she had brown herself upon him so aggressively that he almost fell backward.

"Nice to see you, too," said Cameron, stroking her hair. "I hear we're really tying the knot, huh?"

She pulled away and looked him straight in the eyes, beaming.

"No, silly! We're getting married! Remember?"

"Oh, right! Of course!" Cameron lightly facepalmed himself. "Is there going to be cake?"

"Even better...rocky road ice cream from our freezer!"

"Oh, boy."

Kendall watched the two talk about their big day, unsure whether to be amused at Olivia's childhood innocence or embarrassed that she was taking everything so seriously. Still, Cameron seemed to be playing along, but for how long?

"Are you two gonna kiss or what?" called a voice from the upstairs window. They saw Josh standing there, a large smile on his face.

"Ew! Just because we're getting married doesn't mean we're going to kiss! That's yucky!" Olivia yelled back, glaring at him. "And you're STILL NOT INVITED!"

Josh shrugged and disappeared back into his room, his laugh audible from where they were standing. Olivia huffed and turned back to Cameron.

"So, what do you want to play today?"

"Actually, I can't today. I have an appointment at the physical therapist."

"A what?"

"A special doctor who helps me walk better with my bad leg."

"What time will you get back?"

"I don't know. These things usually last for a little while, and my mom says she wants to do some shopping on the way home."

"Aw!" Olivia crossed her arms and pursed her lower lip in a pout.

"But I might be able to play tomorrow!"

"You'd better!" she said. "We still have to get across that river to get to the camp and give you your medicine!"

"Right. For my snake bite," said Cameron, remembering where their last game had left off.

"Cameron!" came a woman's voice from next door. "We have to get going, sweetie!"

"Okay, Mom!" he called back. "I guess I'll see you guys later."

He turned and began walking back toward the hole in the fence, cane making crunching sounds in the grass as he went. As he slowly maneuvered his way through, he glanced back and gave a wave, which Olivia enthusiastically returned. And then he was gone. Olivia immediately took off for the house, presumably to watch him leave from her upstairs window. Kendall, having lost his motivation to read for the time-being, gathered his book and followed his sister into the house. He was greeted by his father coming downstairs, adjusting his tie. He smiled at his son and turned over his shoulder.

"Alright, I'm off to work!" he announced loudly, calling up to his two other children upstairs. "Josh, I want to see email confirmation of that submitted application tonight when I get home!"

A bang came from upstairs that Kendall recognized as his elder brother slamming his fist on his nightstand. Richard grunted and turned to Kendall.

"Be good for your mother today." He leaned slightly closer and added in a soft voice, "She needs some Mom-time today."

Kendall nodded as his father patted him on the shoulder and walked out the door. Kendall turned to head back outside when he heard his mother let out a sigh from the dining room. Glancing inside, he saw her sitting at the table, staring at the wall as if it were a TV and sipping on her hot tea so ferociously that it looked like she was chewing, which she always did whenever she was worried about something. After debating for a few moments, Kendall slowly approached her.

"Mom?"

She blinked and turned to her son.

"Yes, dear?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," she said, though her clearly-fake smile betrayed her credibility. "I'm just thinking, that's all."

"About the restaurant?" He didn't mean to be so straightforward about it, but it came out before he could stop it. His mother's eyes widened, and he expected to be told some excuse about why she was acting funny, but she turned back to her tea.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I was." Kendall had always been a curious and clever child, and deep down, she had a feeling he would begin to catch on to her fears. Still, there were things that no child should have to ever see, to ever know about, to ever witness. "I'm just a little nervous about your brother working at that place."

"How come?"

She closed her eyes and sighed deeply in frustration.

"I've never liked those animatronics much. They just look so creepy, like they're staring right into your soul. I know they're really alive, but they look like they are. And the way that they move so robotically, yet so realistically. It unnerves me. Those eyes, those blank, dead eyes looking down at me right before a hand begins reaching out toward me to take me somewhere don't want to go…"

As she looked into her son's confused eyes, she realized that she had been rambling. She shook herself in an attempt to brush it off.

"But," she said, clearly trying to move on from her little awkward moment, "Josh really does need a job this summer and it is the only place that's really hiring right now, according to your father."

"So you're okay, then?" Kendall asked, still trying to get a bead on his mother's suddenly weird behavior.

"Yes. Well, no. Yes and no. I'm sorry, but your father never mentioned to me the fact that he'd already found somewhere for your brother to work. He sprung it on me this morning. I think I'm just letting my nerves get the better of me. Childhood memories, you know?" She gave another smile to her son as she kissed him on the forehead. "Thanks for checking up on me sweetheart. It means a lot. Now, what do you say I take you and your sister out and we see what movies are playing in the local theater?"

For the first time since the conversation started, Kendall broke into a smile of his own. "Okay. I'll go get her! What about Josh?"

She gave him a knowing look that he understood immediately. When Josh was in a bad mood, he made a contagious virus out of it, seeking to spread it to whomever else was nearby. It was better that he be left alone right about now. After a quick ruffle of his hair, she watched him head upstairs to get his sister.

 _Josh isn't a kid, he's a young adult, so he says,_ she thought to herself. _He can take care of himself. Maybe this is good. He can go there, check the place out, and determine whether or not it's safe for Kendall and Olivia. I'm sure it is. Freddy Fazbear's has to be a brand name. What are the odds of more incidents happening in another location halfway across the country?_

As she called out to her eldest son, informing him of their plans, and helped her other two children into the car, she felt a sense of peace come over her. She was most likely being paranoid about the whole thing. Still, there was a nagging feeling deep down that would not be silenced, something deep instinct telling her that it was too suspicious to be a coincidence. She did her best to brush it off as she listened to her daughter ramble on about Cameron and the cool things they were passing by.

Kendall, on the other hand, remained silent. He couldn't stop thinking about what his mother said, how distraught she'd been ever since they'd moved in. He thought back to something he'd read in his book:

" _Although researchers and scientists are still experimenting, there is still yet to be a discovery of AI capable of free thinking or free will."_

Remembering the unsettling images of that movie, he shuddered as he thought about what life would be like being chased by a demonic-looking machine seeking to kill him in the cruelest way possible.

* * *

After fumbling with his keys for nearly thirty seconds, Chris pushed open the door to his single apartment and stumbled over the threshold. After setting his small bag near the door, he walked over to his bed and plopped down, wanting nothing more than to drift off to sleep. After a restless adventure getting back, he was drained. But he couldn't sleep. He was too fraught with worry.

 _What happened?_ he thought. _I had it in my hands! I had it, and then…_ He didn't remember anything except a jolt of pain...and waking up with a major headache a few hours later. He remembered his horror when he realized that it was gone. What he'd spent hours searching for was nowhere in sight. _But who would have followed me all the way out there? It's the burnt remains of an old, abandoned building that few people even knew about in the first place_! Someone clearly had been there, though, and had clearly knocked him unconscious. _A homeless man passing through? No. Why would he care about something disgusting and mysterious like that? He'd be looking for food...and shelter._

He shifted slightly, causing his wound to protest against the shift in pressure. He cried in pain and covered his head. That's when another thought occurred to him.

_How am I going to explain this injury at work? They're already suspicious of me taking off for a week like that!_

As he began brainstorming possibilities, a beeping startled him. It was his answering machine. He noticed that he had two new messages. He walked over and played them. They were both from the same person, a close friend of his. The first was from shortly after he'd left, wishing him luck on his journey. The second was received only hours ago. This one sounded much more distressing. Chris checked his cell phone and noticed a barrage of texts and missed calls there, too. He gasped in disbelief. The entire time, he'd been so enveloped in figuring out what had happened that he never thought to check his messages. Without giving any of the messages a gander, he dialed the number. After a few rings, there was a response.

"Hello?"

"It's me," said Chris. "I think we might have a problem."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the chapter lengths are okay. I know that some of my chapters in "Nightmare House" got pretty long, and I wanted to avoid that for this story, not just for your sake but also because it didn't really help my writer's block at all. Hopefully, I can do a better job of narrowing them down.


	3. The First Look

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh gets his first glimpse into the new Fazbear pizzeria and meets a variety of new faces, some friendly and others not so much.

SATURDAY, JULY 1, 2017, 8:37 AM

"You have no new messages."

* * *

As the car pulled into the parking lot of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza World, a stone of anxiety fell in Josh's stomach. For the past twenty-four hours, he'd felt nothing but anger and betrayal for being forced to get a job against his will. After all, he had so many more important things to do...like sleeping and talking to his friends on social media. It wasn't like he even needed the money right now, anyway, since his parents still paid for everything for him. But now, as he sat in the passenger seat looking up at the building looming over him, covered with tinted glass windows, it finally occurred to him how much of a big step this was out of his comfort zone. It seemed like such a simple concept: you go to work, do whatever you're told for eight hours or so, and then come home, getting paid every week. But still, he found himself thinking back to a story one of his friends back home once told him about working in a video store with long hours and little breaks. He hoped this wasn't going to be a similar experience. That would take his parents' cruelty to a brand new level.

"Ready?" Richard asked, noticing his son's silent stare.

"I guess."

"Relax. Just be polite, upfront, and honest, but not about your interests! They don't need to know about your hobbies of staying in your room playing on your phone all day."

"Sure. Whatever."

He got out, slamming the door a little harder than he meant to. Hee looked back at his father one last time, who gave him a small nod of assurance before driving away.

Josh approached the main entrance and gazed up at the building's massive exterior. Even up close, the windows were tinted so much that they were black and reflective of nearly everything in their range. The neon sign, though not as bright in the sun, was on. The face of a bear stared back down at him, its purple eyes bright and almost reminiscent. With a final breath of motivation, he entered.

Upon crossing the threshold, he was immediately struck by two complete changes in the atmosphere. One was that the intense summer heat was replaced by a burst of refreshingly cool air, one that he found to be most pleasant. The other was the tolerable sound of traffic replaced by the nearly deafening sound of music and screaming children from ahead. He looked around. He was standing in what looked like a lobby, with seats lining the walls, though nobody sat in them. There were a few plants in the corners of the room, each standing about four feet tall. Placed near the couches were a few small wooden tables.

There was a desk with a young man around his age sitting, obviously in charge of reservations and whatnot. Josh approached him and he looked up from his work.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a bored voice, which gave Josh no reassurance about his own future job.

"My name's Josh Phillips. I'm here for an interview."

The man stared at him blankly for a few moments before checking his computer. Not wanting to stare back, Josh moved his gaze around the room a little more. There was a TV on the wall above them, showing that stupid cartoon show that Olivia always loved watching. Slightly beneath that was a large picture showing the opening day of the restaurant, with a man and a woman waving to the camera as they cut the ribbon in front of the restaurant. Staring at it, he wondered what they were like. Would they be super friendly to the point of being annoying or authoritarians who were too concerned with their management to care about employees. He didn't really want either.

The young man's voice brought him back to reality.

"I'm sorry?"

"Ms. Swift is expecting you. Go right in."

"Ok. Thanks."

The young man grunted as he passed by.

Past the front desk was a hallway that went left and right, presumably to offices for the higher-ups. As he approached one of the offices, it occurred to him that the young man at the desk never specified where he was to go to wait for his new boss. He saw a pair of offices, both of which were empty. The one door was locked, though the window in the door showed that it was relatively cluttered with papers and boxes. The other door was open and showed a much neater office. The walls were pale white and the blinds were drawn but open, just wide enough to let thin streams of light in. On the desk, there was a computer, a small container for pens and pencils, and a small framed picture showing three people in what appeared to be lab coats with a label that was too small to read. In the middle was a tall, dark-haired man with a large grin plastered on his face. On the left was a woman, slightly shorter, with brown, flowing hair. She was also smiling, though her eyes had a strict look to them. On the right was another man. This man was a bit on the chubby side and his hair was combed perfectly to one side. His smile was the widest of them all like he had a genuine joy for being there.

Josh was about to set foot in the room when a loud roar from behind made him jump. It was the sound of cheering children, followed by music. Curious, he walked back to the front entrance and pushed open the thick set of double doors that led to the main room.

The change of environment was astounding. His eardrums were pounding from the sound of children screaming, laughing, and playing. There were bright lights flashing around that he found almost nauseating. On one side of the room was a small side room filled with arcade games. On the other was a small cafe area where children were seated at tables, laughing and scarfing down pizza with their parents. In the center of the room was a large, round stage hosting a quintet of singing animatronic characters, each standing about five feet tall. One was a pink rabbit with violet eyes playing stand-up bass. Another stood next to it, a white chicken with an acoustic guitar and yellow eyes. Next to it, an orange, green-eyed fox playing an accordion. Next to it was a green wolf with brown eyes playing a small, kiddie-sized drum set. The four of them were stationed on a lower platform of the stage, revolving in a circle around the center so that each one was constantly performing to a new section of kids. In the center on a slightly elevated podium was a silver bear with bright, blue eyes, singing a song about sharing and fun into a microphone and waving at its audience. Some of the kids waved back, eager to show the mindless robots their returned love and gratitude, but most of the children were too involved with what they were doing to care.

As the bear's podium, rotating in the opposite direction of the lower platform, spun to face the direction of the entrance, its eyes momentarily locked with Josh's. For a split second, the world seemed to grind to a halt, and all noise echoed away. The blue eyes poured into the brown, and a silent communication seemed to take place, one filled with a sense of unfamiliarity. In what he was certain was his imagination, he could've sworn he heard a voice come from nowhere:

_You think you've got everything figured out, but you haven't the faintest idea._

A few hard taps on his shoulder pulled him from his trance and he turned around to find himself face-to-face with a tall woman staring back at him. Her face was protruding and her nose long. She had shoulder-length brown hair and menacing eyes that looked like they could find a needle in a haystack in the dead of night. As he shrank slightly in her glare, he recognized her as the woman from the framed picture he saw...minus the smile.

"Can I help you?" she asked him solemnly, eying him up and down.

"H-hi," said Josh. "Um…"

"Do you have a reservation?"

"No, ma'am," he said. "My name's Josh Phillips. I'm here for-"

"Oh, right. The new recruit!" she said in a much brighter tone. "My apologies. With the major holiday coming up in only three days, things have been rather hectic around here. But that's precisely why we need all the help we can get!" She extended a hand and he shook it. "My name is Rebecca Swift, and I'm one of the owners and managers of this establishment. If you could follow me to my office, we'll get this train rolling!"

Josh nodded and followed her through the doors back out into the hallway. They followed the same path that he had just gone down minutes before. He saw the man at the front desk with his feet up and playing on his phone. _That looks kind of unprofessional,_ he thought. _Wait...is that what I look like?_

She led him back into the office he had just peeked into earlier. She walked around behind the desk and sat down. She gestured to the chair across the desk and pulled something out of a folder. As he sat down, he recognized the paper as his application.

"So," she said, placing her folded hands on her desk and looking at him in a very professional manner. "From what I understand, this is your first job, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Josh. "I haven't really-"

"It's not important," said Rebecca, smiling at him. "Honestly, I could care less about your work history or lack thereof. As long as you're willing to work hard and do what you're told." She leaned forward in her chair, her smile never leaving her face but her eyes returning to their original searching state. "You _can_ do that, can't you?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Josh again.

"Good," she replied, "because we need people who know how to do what they're told." She gave a heavy sigh, similar to what his mother does whenever she lectures him. "I don't know whether or not you're aware of this, but Freddy Fazbear's Inc. has had a bit of a...shall we say, checkered past. And I'm not talking about simple things like the animatronics breaking down or the kitchen running low and supplies, although that happens quite a bit, too. We're talking about disappearances. Are you familiar with any of that?"

"No, ma'am," said Josh, though memories were beginning to stir of his mother's recent change of attitude.

"Well, supposedly there were some _incidents_ in the previous restaurants involving children going missing."

"Missing?"

"That's right."

"Were they ever found?" Josh asked, his uneasy feeling starting to deepen.

"I don't know," said Rebecca, "but it has irreversibly stained this company's reputation. We haven't been the same ever since."

"Has anything happened yet?"

"Here? Absolutely not!" Rebecca replied proudly. "We take the physical wellness of our customers and children very seriously. We want to show everyone that that past is the past, and we're willing to learn from our mistakes and look to the future. In fact, that's our personal slogan: 'Forget the past and move on to a brighter future.' Do you believe that?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. And because of this, we also take the complete cooperation and obedience of our staff very seriously."

Josh gulped. He felt sweat begin to drip down his forehead. Rebecca noticed this and gave a satisfied smile.

"Not to worry, Josh. I don't mean to scare you. I just want to impress upon you the importance of doing as you're told. Overall, I think you'll like working here. We offer competitive pay, flexible scheduling, though not as much during busy times, and free meals."

"Free meals?"

"Absolutely. Unlike many other establishments, we offer all employees a half-hour break for every four-hour shift and a full hour-long lunch break for every eight-hour shift, where they are free to help themselves to any of the food available in our extra stock. Does that sound good?"

"Yeah, it does," said Josh, breaking into a smile of his own.

"I thought so," said Rebecca with a wink. "I know how to lure hungry boys like you in. Well, let me show you around a little bit."

She stood up and led him back into the main room.

"Well, I know you've already been in here, but allow me to show you a few things." She gestured him over to the nearby machine he hadn't noticed before. It was a monitor attached to some kind of black bulb hanging above them at the entrance. The bulb seemed to be humming slightly with vibration. "This is one of our latest technological advancements just delivered and activated last week. It's to help ensure that no outsiders with, shall we say, _rebellious_ tendencies can get in and cause havoc."

"How does it work?" asked Josh, examining the mysterious buzzing bulb above them.

"It acts like a metal detector, only it's more powerful. It accounts for normal things like cell phones and keys, but if someone were to walk in carrying a knife or something, it would detect it and initiate our panic failsafe, causing a lockdown until the culprit is apprehended."

"Isn't that a bit much?" said Josh, unsure about whether to be amazed or nervous.

"Not with our track record it's not," said Rebecca. "Now come along."

She took him to the cafe area. "This is probably where you'll be spending most of your time," she explained, "aside from the occasional duties in the back."

"Goody," said Josh as she led him to the back area.

"This is the kitchen. As an employee, you _are_ allowed in here, though it's recommended that you stay out of our chefs' way as much as possible."

Josh nodded and was led over to another nearby door along the back wall.

"Now, pay close attention. You are not allowed back in here. This is where the magic happens, so to speak, the place where our animatronics are built, tested, and fixed."

"You build them here?" asked Josh.

"Yes, and given some of the mishaps the franchise has had in the past, it's very important that no one goes back here except those who are authorized. We don't want to risk any accidents. This entire area is off-limits, understand?"

Josh nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Rebecca smiled. "Good. Now come along."

After briefly showing him the arcade room, she led him to another side room that looked like an indoor playground. There were climbing structures, slides, and even some mechanical rides like the ones seen at shopping malls, only slightly bigger and more fluid, from the looks of it.

"The playroom," said Rebecca, already moving on. Josh jogged to catch up, noting how they were moving notably faster than before as if she had something else she wanted to get to.

As they walked, Josh turned and noticed a man standing over in the cafe who wasn't there before. He was uniformed and watching the chaos from afar. He was rather skinny and tall with brown hair and even a few noticeable bags under his eyes like he hadn't been sleeping well. Speaking of the eyes, they appeared to be zoned out and uninterested, watching lazily as the repetitive scene of children running played out before him. Maybe it was just the distance between them, but Josh couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the man's presence.

"That's Chris Everett," said Rebecca, catching Josh's gaze. "He's our daytime guard, keeping out intruders and helping to enforce our rules. He's a very capable man, I admit, but…" She leaned in close and lowered her voice to almost a whisper. "He's a very strange one. His background check was fine, but there's something about him that rubs me the wrong way. He actually applied to be our night guard, but my partner and I both felt uncomfortable with the thought of him having free roam while we're not here. He's very quiet and doesn't talk much, and we always catch him lurking around during his breaks like he's looking for something. On top of all that, he took all of last week off for no reason and came back just today with a mysterious bump on his head that he probably hopes we didn't notice. Frankly, I don't trust him, and if I were you, I'd be wary of him."

Chris looked up at the two of them, noticing that he was being watched. He put on what appeared to be a fake smile and nodded at Rebecca, who returned the gesture identically.

"Well, come along, Josh," she said. "I want to go over a few more things with you."

As Josh began following her back into the hallway, he glanced back at Chris, who was now watching him intently. He shuddered slightly and turned away.

Rebecca led him into a small room off of the front hallway. Inside were lockers, tables, a coffee machine, microwave, refrigerator, TV, and even a soda machine.

"The break room," said Rebecca. "As I said before, you can feel free to help yourself to whatever you want in the fridge during breaks. You can take any locker you want. You'll get your uniforms on Monday."

"Excuse me, Rebecca?" came a voice from behind them. A young woman stood there, dressed in a plain white button-down shirt and black pants, obviously the uniform. "Um, the nacho machine is acting weird again. The button seems to be fine now, but its still leaking in the back. I don't know what to do about it."

"No worries, Susan. We'll get it straightened out. By the way, this is Josh Phillips, our new recruit. He doesn't have any job experience, so I think I'll be sticking him with you for these next couple weeks."

Susan turned to Josh and gave him a welcoming smile. "Oh, that's nice. How are you with cleaning up ketchup stains and vomit?"

Josh's own smile faltered slightly. "Are you serious?"

"You'll find out," she said with a wink.

"Easy, Susan. Let's not frighten him before he even starts," said Rebecca, chuckling. Susan scoffed and turned and walked away.

After showing him a few more areas that held little interest for his short attention span, she finally led him back to the front lobby and desk.

"I trust you met Gary," she said, nodding to the man behind the desk, whose overall existence was unchanged.

"So, Josh. What do you think? You'll like working here?"

Before he could respond, the front door opened and a man walked in wearing a black suit and sunglasses. His hair was black and his face was round and clean-shaven. Like Rebecca, his nose was long and protruding.

 _What are they, siblings...or something?_ Josh thought, but then he realized something. This is one of the other men from that photo, the man standing in the middle.

"Morning, 'Becca," he announced in a cheery voice.

"Morning, Derek," she said. "How did it go?"

"Great! It's a shame they don't do online orders, but it'll definitely be here by Monday."

"That's good," she said. He turned to Josh and she cleared her throat. "This is Josh Phillips, our new recruit starting on Monday."

"Oh, well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Josh!" said Derek, removing his sunglasses and extending a hand. "Good timing, too! I'm Derek Brody, Rebecca's partner in owning and running this fine establishment. We've got a lot of work to do to get ready for Tuesday. I'm sure Rebecca told you, but since this is our first Fourth of July celebration, we've got to be ready for a double workload. Tell me...are you any good with installation?"

"Uh…" Josh said, his mind grinding to a halt. He thought back to one of his computer classes last year when he had to watch his teacher fix the computer he was using for an assignment by swapping something out for a replacement. Nothing the teacher had said about the parts made any sense to him at all.

"I'll take that as a no," said Derek, chuckling. "Not to worry. It's rather simple. We're getting some new safety straps delivered on Monday, which were not as easy to find as you would think. Trust me. We're putting them on some of our rides out there. They're supposed to be more resilient, better at keeping kids from falling off and hurting themselves. They come with instructions and are pretty easy to put on. Think you'll be able to handle that?"

"Yeah," said Josh.

"Good to hear," said Derek as he turned back to Rebecca. "Any incidents to report?"

"No," she said. "We had a minor issue with the nacho cheese machine clogging again, but not as bad as last week. I had Terry get on it."

"And how about our little adventurer?" asked Derek. "Has he finally come back from his week off?"

"Yes," said Rebecca. "I've already warned our new recruit here to be careful around him."

"Good," said Derek. "Nice enough guy, don't get me wrong, but there are too many things about him that don't seem right."

"So, why did you hire him, then?" Josh blurted out without thinking.

Derek and Rebecca exchanged concerned glances, obviously not sure how to put it, when Derek spoke.

"Because there's nothing that says we can't. He may be a suspicious character, but he has no convictions or anything else that makes him any less qualified for the job. Legally, we can't not hire someone just based on those suspicions, or else they might sue us and create more trouble for our franchise, which is the last thing we want, given its track record."

"But do you believe he's actually dangerous?" Josh asked as he thought back to his mother's worries. He still wasn't completely invested in the entire thing, but his curiosity was starting to grow.

"Honestly, we don't know," said Rebecca. "In fact, since you seem to be so interested in him, you think you could maybe keep an eye on him during your shifts? Not spy on him, perse, but just let us know if you see anything?"

Josh was at a loss for words. He hadn't even begun his job yet and he was already being recruited to keep watch over someone suspicious. It was certainly an interesting job interview, to say the least. He nodded.

"Very good," said Rebecca. "Yes, I think you'll do nicely here, Josh. We'll take good care of you." She gave him a smile.

He smiled back, though he felt slightly unnerved by the strong look in her eyes as she did so. She was nice, and he certainly liked that, but it always made him feel a bit uneasy whenever someone other than his girlfriend back home expressed that much affection for him. His mother always did that and it was embarrassing.

"Well, we'd better get back to work," said Derek. "We've got a two o'clock party reserved and it's a big birthday party, so we'll need to get things set up."

"Oh, yes. Duty calls," Rebecca agreed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Josh. I look forward to working with you. See you on Monday."

"Yeah. See you."

She gave him one last wave as she and Derek walked back into the main entertainment room, engaged in deep conversation about something.

After about fifteen minutes of waiting, his father came and picked him up and they began the drive home.

"So, how did it go?" he asked.

Josh shrugged. "Fine. Got the job."

"Good!" said Richard. "I'm glad. I know this is a big step for you, son, and you may not realize it yet, but this will be good for you in the long run."

Josh rolled his eyes at the life-lesson speech. _Yeah, yeah, yeah..._ he thought. The more he pondered life working at the place, the more he began to ease into the adjustment. The screaming kids were definitely a big disadvantage, but the pay really did seem decent and the promises of good food during lunch was a plus, not to mention there was something interesting about that one girl, Susan. The way she smiled at him, assured him that she would help him get through his first week. While he had no intention of going any further than a friendship with her given his floundering long-distance relationship, the thought of working with someone as kind as she was comforting.

They arrived home to find Emma's rental car gone. He remembered that his mother had mentioned wanting to meet with someone, a potential client who happened to live nearby. Josh went straight into his bedroom, anxious to pull out his beloved phone and begin several hours of checking social media and conversing with his friends. However, something was different this time. Rather than wanting nothing more than losing himself in technology and escaping reality, something about the restaurant stuck with him. That man...Chris. Josh could still clearly see his face, nearly every detail. There was something about that face that he couldn't quite put his finger on. At first, he seemed like nothing more than a miserable worker who was just wanting to get from day-to-day and pay the bills. Once Rebecca and Derek brought up their suspicions, Josh couldn't help but see something new in his memory of that face. There was a distinct look in those eyes, a look that betrayed a sense of secretive knowledge like he knew something sinister that others didn't. It was honestly kind of creepy, and Josh involuntarily shuddered at the thought. But perhaps it was just his pre-first-day nerves getting the better of him.

Evening came quicker than anyone expected and Josh trudged downstairs for dinner. The smell of grilled chicken with baked potatoes and butter was enticing. The others had already begun eating.

"How was it, Josh?" his mother asked him as he sat down.

"It was okay, I guess."

"How's the restaurant?"

"Fine. It looks like a pizzeria, with pizza, kids running around screaming like maniacs, and a bunch of singing robot animals."

Emma watched her son carefully as he spoke, listening with great attention to every word he spoke. She was about to ask another question when Olivia interrupted.

"Ooh! Can we go? I wanna see!"

"Calm down, 'Liv," said Richard. "Maybe sometime next week."

"Cameron's going!" she retorted. "There's a big party on the Fourth of July! Cameron told me about it. He's going! Can we go, too? Please?"

Richard and Emma looked at each other. Emma was still clearly concerned; the look on her face was undeniable. Kendall glanced curiously between his parents. He'd been meaning to ask them about it as well, mainly out of interest, but Olivia had beaten him to the punch.

"We'll see," said Richard, not taking his eyes off of his wife. "Mommy and I will talk about it later."

She continued to give her husband a nervous look, but nodded. They certainly would discuss it later.

As dinner ended, Kendall and Olivia both went off to their bedrooms and Richard went to make a phone call with one of his business partners. Josh found himself having to help his mother with the dishes as part of his agreement to help out around the house more.

"Josh," she finally said after a few minutes, breaking the silence that had fallen between them until that point. "Be honest with me. When you were at the restaurant, did everything seem, you know... _safe_?"

Josh hesitated, pondering how he could say something believable and reassuring. "Yeah. I mean, some of the animatronics looked a little rusty, but…"

"What about the people?"

"Lots of 'em, loud, chatty…"

"No, I mean…" She sighed and set the plate down that she'd been washing. She turned and looked her eldest son dead in the eyes, making him grow uncomfortable. It reminded him of the first look he'd been given from Rebecca.

"Was there anyone there who seemed kind of, I don't know, suspicious?"

Chris's face popped back into Josh's mind, and after his hours of social media had begun settling his nerves. Still, there was no way it could be true. It had to be a coincidence. Besides, they weren't the only ones who'd be working there. There were other employees, too. If Chris did happen to be some kind of creep, surely the rest of them could put a stop to it, right?

"Not really," he said.

She watched him for a few moments and then sighed once more, turning back to the dishes. "Okay. I'm sorry about being like this, but I never liked that place, or rather places like it. It just seems like a good place for something bad to happen."

Josh stopped drying the plate he'd been working on and thought back to their first day at the new house. He suddenly remembered his mother talking "quietly" with their father about children who were killed. But Rebecca had only said that they were missing, or so he thought. Everything in the interview had happened so fast he couldn't remember every little detail.

His mother thanked him for helping with the dishes and he walked up to his room. However, this time, his phone remained buried in his pocket. He sat down on his bed and thought about what life would be like working at this restaurant. He found it genuinely unnerving that this place had a history of child kidnappings and murders. Perhaps that was the key to his mother's concerns.

_But that can't happen. This is a new place with greater technology, right? There's no way any of that can happen again, can it?_

He thought back to Chris once more, that unsettling look in his eyes that gave away an impression that something weird might be going on.

_It's gotta just be my imagination. I mean, he's a guard. That job sucks. He was probably tired or something. Maybe that bump on his head was from getting out of his car. I'm just getting paranoid._

As the sun finally set and his parents began another argument below, he got ready for bed, placed his headphones on his head, and drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a bit of a wait, and unfortunately, I can't promise that it'll get better, but I'll try to keep from any long absences. I hope you're enjoying it so far, especially since introductions are out of the way and things can really start now.


	4. The First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Josh gets through his first day of work while Kendall has a brief encounter with a mysterious being.

MONDAY, JULY 3, 2017, 6:17 AM

" _Hi, you've reached Chris. I'm currently unable to take your call. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you whenever I can. Thank you."_

BEEP.

_"Hey, it's me again. Look, you're really asking the wrong person, here. Unfortunately, despite what some people may think, I wasn't really gifted with anything in the way of mechanical engineering, but I did spare some time to do a little research. It looks like that security device they've got is a prototype of a new computerized AI that's supposed to be intelligent enough to differentiate between common things such as coins and keys and more dangerous things like potential weapons. So basically, if someone wanted to rob the place, chances are they wouldn't be able to get inside without the whole world knowing...I think, but I'm no expert. That's all I got. Are you really sure there isn't anyone else around whom you can trust? There has to be someone you can ask who won't report you. Just sayin'. Well, I have work to do. Duty calls. Good luck. Let me know if anything interesting happens. Alright. Buh-bye!"_

END OF MESSAGE.

* * *

Josh stepped off of the bus after it had pulled to a stop. Given that his shifts typically started at nine, his father would be at work and his mother could also be busy with a client, so they both figured it would be best if he had a bus pass. It wasn't that long of a walk from his house to the bus stop, and fortunately, the stop near the restaurant was right in front, so it could've been worse.

As he walked in and passed Gary at the front desk, who still wore his same dull, uninterested face from the other day. As he passed by the main room, he noticed the dead silence inside. He briefly wondered what could be going on until he remembered that the place didn't actually open for business until noon.

He entered the locker room to find Susan sitting at the table, checking her phone. She heard his footsteps and looked up.

"Morning, newbie," she said playfully. "You ready for your first day of paradise?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm so excited I could explode," said Josh.

"Aren't we all?" said Susan, getting up. She walked over to the counter and picked up a folded shirt and pants. "Rebecca wanted me to give you these. It's your uniform. You'd better change real quick. Work starts in five minutes and you need to be in uniform and ready to go when you clock in."

He grabbed the clothes and walked into the nearby bathroom. As soon as he entered, he was nearly overcome by a horrible stench. He wondered what it could possibly be. It was an unusual smell, not like dirty socks one would expect to find in the vicinity of lockers. This smelled almost...rotten.

The air vent clicked above him and a breath of cool, fresh air filled the room from above, eliminating the mysterious stench. Josh shrugged it off and stepped into the stall to change. Within minutes, he was dressed in his shirt and pants. There was also a small name tag reading JOSH in tall, red letters.

"Well, this is it, I guess," he said to himself as he looked himself over in the mirror before heading back out into the locker room. Rebecca was standing there talking to Susan when she heard his approaching footsteps.

"Ah, there he is!" she announced with another one of her wide smiles. "I'm putting you with Susan in the cafe for your first few days to see how you get along."

"Ok," he said, giving Susan a quick glance. She smirked back at him.

"But first, there's another assignment I have for the both of you. Do you remember what Derek told you about our new safety straps?"

"Yeah."

"Well, they came in early this morning. Follow me."

Rebecca led them out into the main room. Josh was nearly awestruck with how different the environment was without the kids. The carpeted floors that he hadn't even noticed before were stained with food that was too difficult to remove. The stage in the center still held all five of the animatronics, all of whom were completely motionless and dead, staring off into nowhere.

He and Susan entered the side room where the playscape was. It, too, looked extremely barren and empty without the kids. There were a few large boxes sitting near some of the mechanical rides.

"The straps are in these boxes," said Rebecca. "They're brand new and state-of-the-art safety straps with ultimate durability. We want to put them on these rides to avoid any injuries. There should be detailed instructions inside on how to attach them. Do you two think you can handle that, or would you like me to stick around?"

"We got it," said Susan.

"Good." Rebecca nodded. "Well, Derek and I were going to have a meeting in a bit, but he's not here yet, so I'll be in my office if you need me."

"Thanks," said Susan as her boss left the room without another word. "Well, let's get to it." She pulled out a box cutter from her pocket and cut the tape from one of the boxes. She opened the box and pulled out a few thick, black straps. She tried stretching one out to little avail. "Wow, these really are thick! What are they made of, kevlar?"

"To stop bullets or something?" Josh asked.

"I guess," said Susan, scoffing. "That's just what we need."

Josh pulled a few out and tested them himself. Despite using a considerable amount of force, the straps did not stretch out much at all. He looked at the rides.

"Are these really that easy to attach?"

"Looks like it," said Susan, glancing at the instructions inside. "Come on, chief. Let's get to work."

* * *

"CAMERON! Where are you?"

"I'm here! On the other side of these rocks!"

"How did you get over there?"

"I don't know! We must have gotten separated at that last fork!"

"Well, hang on! We'll find a way over to you somehow, and then we'll see about getting your injury looked at, won't we, doctor?"

Kendall groaned. He still couldn't believe that his mother made him accompany his sister and neighbor to the local playground that day. He wanted to spend more time reading from his robot book, given that he was growing more determined by the moment to figure out exactly what was causing his mother such great distress. But alas, he found himself here, unwillingly playing the role of a doctor in Olivia and Cameron's latest adventure.

"Yeah, we'll find a way over there somehow...I guess," he said.

"That's the spirit!" cried Olivia, peering over a playground bridge at Cameron, who was looking back at them from the other side. "Are you okay, honeybear?"

Kendall groaned in disgust. _She's been listening to Mom and Dad talking sweet to each other for too long._

"Come along, doctor. He needs us right away!"

They began moving toward one side of the playground structure. Kendall tried to keep going in order to get to Cameron as soon as he could, but Olivia stopped him.

"What?!"

"We can't go this way!"

"And why not?"

"Can't you see? It's blocked off! We have to try another way!" She began pulling him the other direction. As soon as they reached the other end, she said, "Oh, darn! This way's blocked off, too!"

Kendall rolled his eyes. He remembered playing these games with Josh when they were younger. He was so carefree at the time just like Olivia was now, but Josh never had any fun. He was always complaining about having to play along. Kendall was always having fun and never understood why...until now. And then the thought occurred to him: _Am I really gonna turn into Josh after all?_

"What do we do, doctor?" asked Olivia, with desperation oozing out of her voice. She was really getting into it.

"I don't know." said Kendall.

"I know! We can squeeze through the opening back there!" she said, dragging him back to the playscape bridge.

 _She already knows_ , Kendall thought, _yet she asked me anyway._

They reached the bridge where Cameron was still waiting on the other side.

"Here, we'll crawl under here! I think we can fit!" said Olivia. Without another word, she dropped to her hands and knees and disappeared under the bridge. "I'm coming, sweetiepie!" Kendall heard her shout.

Kendall looked down at the space beneath the bridge. It looked tight and uncomfortable for someone of his age to fit through. Besides, he wasn't going to get down on his hands and knees, not for something as silly as his sister's fantasy adventure. He put his hands on top of the bridge and pulled himself on top of it.

"Doctor, don't do that! That way's dangerous!" called Olivia.

Kendall ignored her. He wanted to get this game over with as soon as he could, no matter what he had to do. As he prepared to jump off the other side where the others were waiting, in his frustration and determination, he failed to notice the safety bar that was only inches above his head. He felt the metal make contact with the top of his head and the next thing he knew he was on the ground.

"Uh oh. Looks like somebody should've followed me after all!" came Olivia's voice followed by a giggle.

As he pushed his hands against the woodchips, he felt a sudden chill in the air. He shivered, looking up at the trees, expecting to see the branches blowing in the breeze, but they were motionless. The leaves were still, but the chill continued. He began glancing around the nearby trees for any source of the sudden drop in temperature but saw nothing.

"Kendall?" came Cameron's voice from nearby. "You alright?"

"Do you feel that?" he asked.

Cameron gave him a confused look. "Feel what?"

"That chill in the air?"

"What chill? You mean the wind?"

"No, the…" Kendall looked back at Cameron in disbelief. "You can't feel that?"

Cameron shook his head. "No. In fact, I'm starting to sweat."

Kendall took another look at the trees nearby. They weren't too thick, but suddenly, he felt like he was looking into a forest, a hunter who was about to become the hunted.

A small bush near the edge of the trees shook, causing Kendall to turn his gaze there. And that's when he saw it. A black cloak slowly rose up a few feet from the bush, followed by a pale white face. Within seconds, the face was completely revealed, showing a wide, permanent smile plastered on its face, showing a thin row of crooked teeth. The other noticeable feature was the eyes. One eye appeared to be blackened while the other was bright and luminous. It stared at him for a few moments. Kendall's mouth twitched as he struggled to remember how to make words, if he even knew what words to say.

"Kendall!" came Cameron's voice from nearby. The creature turned and looked in Cameron's direction. "Kendall!"

Kendall turned to see Cameron, who was now standing a mere few feet away staring at him. Olivia was standing beside him, also showing signs of concern.

"Are you okay?"

"I...don't know," said Kendall as he turned back to the bush only to find that mysterious face was gone, disappearing as quickly as it had arrived.

"What are ya looking at?" Cameron asked, walking up beside Kendall and following his gaze.

Kendall shook his head. "Nothing. Probably nothing."

"Well then come along, doctor!" exclaimed Olivia. "He still needs to be treated!"

She and Cameron turned back to the playground. Kendall followed, but not before giving one last look back at the bush, half-expecting to see that face again, but it was gone. He rubbed his hand against his face. _Could it be the heat messing with me? But that chill...I don't think I have cold intolerance or anything._ After a few minutes, he finally shrugged it off as his imagination and returned to the others, who were eagerly waiting for him.

From the bushes, a pair of sinister eyes watched the trio in silence, taking a particular interest to the little boy with a cane.

* * *

"That's it," said Susan as she and Josh finished attaching the last of the safety straps onto one of the rides. "Sometimes I wish we didn't even have these kiddie rides at all. I mean, we already have enough other stuff. Why add something else that could possibly cause someone to get hurt, right?"

"Right," said Josh, nodding. "It's stupid."

Susan shrugged. "But it's the boss's orders. Gotta do what we gotta do sometimes, even if we wanna pull our hair out."

Josh chuckled. "Tell me about it."

Susan checked her watch. It was a little past eleven-thirty. "Well, let's go see what else there is before we open."

After a few minutes of searching, they found Rebecca standing at the front desk talking to Gary about something. She looked up as the pair approached.

"All set, boss," said Susan.

"Good. Why don't you take your new trooper here and show him your station?"

"Will do."

Susan turned and began walking away with Josh following close behind her. As they were leaving, he could've sworn he heard Rebecca say, "Keep your eyes peeled. Let us know immediately..."

Susan led Josh back to the cafe area counter.

"Welcome to your new home away from home...at least for now," she said, smiling at him. "I hope you're good at dealing with impatient customers."

"Oh, great," said Josh, rolling his eyes.

She giggled. "Don't worry, hero. I'll be here with you the whole time."

He smiled back. "Thanks."

After giving a brief introduction to the other two employees who'd just shown up for the start of their shifts, she proceeded to show him how to use the nacho and soda machines, take pizzas out of the ovens properly, how to work the ovens at different settings, and even how to use the microphone to announce ready orders clearly.

"Remember to annunciate," she told him. "Customers don't like it if they can't understand you. Trust me."

The clock soon struck twelve and immediately a group of screaming kids came bursting in with their parents following closely behind, trying to keep tabs on where their child went in the mix.

"Cavalry's here," said Susan.

Things became rather quickly hectic. While most people were focused on the animatronics or something else in the pizzeria, a handful of people immediately got in line for food. Josh discovered after a few orders that the day probably wasn't going to be as slow-paced as he thought as he struggled to keep up. Susan relayed the orders to him as clearly as she could, which certainly helped. It amazed Josh just how different people were. Some were completely understanding that it was his first day, while others still made threats about not coming back if service continued to be that slow. Nevertheless, he never had a moment to be bored as the loud environment began to settle in as normal.

After an hour of work, it came time for their lunch break. As promised, there was leftover pizza and buttered breadsticks in the break room. After warming it up, it was actually pretty good, soft and chewy. They talked to and joked with each other about many things; school, the restaurant, and life back home. She revealed that her family had just moved in from Cincinnati a year earlier, so she understood completely what it was like moving to a new city and having to meet new people. She was seventeen, two years older than he was, and was looking into colleges after graduation. With the way she spoke, full of confidence and determination, Josh couldn't help but admire her.

Once lunch was over, the two made their way back to their post to resume their duties, which continued on like before. There were more orders, more spills and messes, and a few more customers asked questions about things that were already written clearly on the menu. The music continued to play the same set of songs over and over, prompting Josh to ask if they knew anything else.

At about three o'clock, they were notified by one of their coworkers about a spill on one of the tables near the stage. Josh grabbed a rag and sanitizer water and made his way over to clean it. The table was almost completely covered in sticky, red liquid. It looked like someone had taken their full cup and dumped it. Josh had to scrub it vigorously to make any progress. It took nearly ten minutes, but he finally got the table clean, or at least clean enough.

"Hey, Josh?" called Susan.

"Yeah? What's up?" he called back.

"We're out of cups. Could you brave your way through the battlefield and grab some more from the kitchen?"

"Sure thing."

He returned the cleaning materials and made his way through the screaming kids, being bumped here and there and almost being run into a few times. As he passed by the stage, the music suddenly became clearer. He thought he recognized the tune as something his mother used to sing to him as a young child, but he couldn't remember it exactly.

He approached the set of double doors leading to the kitchen when a large bang sounded from nearby. Stopping in his tracks and looking around, he quickly deduced that the only possible place it could have come from was the nearby door that led to the back, where Rebecca had forbidden him from entering. His thoughts raced back to his mother's worries, Rebecca's explanations of the franchise's history, and Chris' shady appearance. As he stared at the door, another identical bang came from the other side making him flinch, followed by a small buzzing noise. He turned to see if anyone else noticed, but nobody had. He turned back to the door and slowly approached it, suddenly finding himself overcome by curiosity. _Kidnapped children, animatronics, Mom's worrying...is it all real?_

He slowly reached his hand out to the door when a hand suddenly latched onto his shoulder and spun him around somewhat violently. Standing before him, face more serious than ever, was Chris.

"You're not supposed to be back here," he said in a low, monotone voice.

"Sorry," said Josh. "I...I was just…"

"I don't care," said Chris, removing his hand from Josh's shoulder. "You shouldn't be back here. With the work going on back here, people can get hurt. Trust me: if you know what's good for you…" He stepped closer, standing only about a foot away. "...you'll stay away from back here."

They stood silently for a moment, their eyes remained locked. As Josh stared into the dark, inhospitable and unwelcoming eyes, he suddenly felt a sense of deep dread. Everytime he caught a glimpse of this man from a distance, there was enough doubt to keep him from having any real fear, but now that they were almost nose-to-nose, the feelings were unlike anything before. For the first time in his life, Josh felt like he might be in danger.

"I'm sorry," he stammered nervously. "I'll go."

"See to it that you do, young man," said Chris, nodding. "This is no place for you."

Josh slipped quietly by, aware of Chris' eyes watching him as he walked. He slipped his way through the crowd of screaming kids and chatting parents until he made his way back to the cafe. Susan was still there, engaged in conversation with a customer. She turned to him when he approached.

"Where are the cups?"

He stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth hanging open.

"What?"

She raised her eyebrows. "The cups! The ones I told you to get? Why didn't you grab them? This man's been waiting for a drink for almost five minutes!"

Josh didn't know what to say. He'd been so thrown off by the sounds he'd heard in the back and Chris' sudden intimidating arrival that he'd completely forgotten about why he'd gone back there in the first place.

"I-I didn't-"

"It's alright. I'll get them myself. Could you please talk to this guy a little? Reassure him or something?"

"Yeah. Sure."

He stepped behind the register as she walked away. The man, tall with black hair and a thick mustache, was giving him the stink eye.

"I thought this place was supposed to have quick service!" he said aggressively.

"I'm sorry, sir. We're very busy today. We'll have your drink ready for you very shortly."

"I have half a mind to take my business...and my kids...elsewhere," he said, "no matter how much they love coming here!"

Josh fought the urge to roll his eyes. If they'd been anywhere else, he had a few things he could say in retaliation, but he bit his tongue. If his parents found out he got fired on the first day, there would be hell to pay. Fortunately, after only half-a-minute longer, Susan arrived with a stack of cups and the man was given his drink.

"Personally, I think his pants might be on a bit too tight," said Susan, "but business is business."

Josh laughed. "I know, right?"

The end of the shift came surprisingly early. As the evening crew arrived, Josh and Susan made their way into the locker room. After they clocked out and changed, Josh looked at her and asked the question he'd been thinking of asking all day.

"Can I get your number?"

She blinked in surprise, but then smiled. "Sure. You seem harmless enough, I guess," she said sarcastically. She wrote it down on a nearby napkin and walked by him out the door, giving him a small wave as she went. He looked down at the number written in light blue ink and folded it up, carefully putting it in his pocket.

The bus ride home was uneventful, aside from an older man having a bit of a coughing fit near him. When he got home, his parents were sitting in the living room watching TV.

"Hey! How'd it go, sport?" his father asked.

"Fine."

"Good. I brought home some take-out," he said. "It's in the fridge. We already ate."

"Okay. Thanks." Josh walked into the kitchen and made his way over to the fridge. Inside, he found a brown bag from one of the local sandwich shops containing what appeared to be a beef sandwich and some fries. He warmed them up and sat down at the table to eat. As he bit into the juicy beef, he realized how hungry he was. It was weird; he took full advantage of the leftover policy during his lunch break, which included a few slices of pizza and some bread, but after another couple hours of work, he was starving again. Perhaps he'd been working harder than he realized.

As he was finishing the sandwich, his parents walked in and sat down across from him at the table.

"So, we've been thinking," said Richard, glancing at his wife, "that we're going to give this new restaurant a try tomorrow."

Josh glanced at his mother. She was looking anxiously at her son, as if hoping he would interject something. He knew that look; he'd seen it many times before. She always wore it whenever she wasn't completely onboard with an idea but didn't have enough assurance to disagree.

"You mean, for the party?" he asked.

"Correct. I'm assuming you're working?" said Richard.

Josh nodded.

"Good! This way we'll get to see you in action!" his father said with a smile. "Besides, I figured we could get to know some of our neighbors a little bit better, since it sounds like they're all going, too. It should be fun."

"Should be," said Josh.

"Don't you think so?" asked Emma in a concerned tone. She'd meant for it to sound like an innocent question, but her intention was still clear. She obviously was still nervous.

"Yeah," said Josh. "It seems pretty fun there...for kids, at least."

"Just a job for you?" said Richard. Josh nodded again. Richard scoffed. "Well, it's never as much fun for the workers, but at least you're honest."

"Right," said Josh, growing embarrassed as he always did when his parents started complimenting him. He wasn't sure whether he disliked that or the disciplinary talks more. "Well, I'll be in my room," he added, getting up and throwing away his garbage.

"Don't text too hard. You've got a big day tomorrow," his father teased as he passed, making him roll his eyes.

Emma was sitting silently next to her son, looking out the window while lost in thought.

"Relax, hon. There's nothing to worry about," he said, patting his wife's hand. "Everything will be fine. It's just a day of fun for the kids is all."

She gave him a forced smile, though his kiss on the cheek didn't help calm her nerves. The only reason why she'd relented was because she spoke with a close friend of hers on the phone earlier, not providing any key details, and was reminded of her own philosophy of judging only by experience. It was then that she realized that the best way to get a handle on the new restaurant was to check it out herself. She felt nervous about taking her other two children there if something was up, but going by herself would be a little suspicious. Besides, perhaps she really was being paranoid. If nothing of ill-intent actually was going on and this place really was a safe, fun place for kids, it would certainly be a big blessing for her children, particularly Olivia, not to mention it would be nice seeing her son working hard.

 _Maybe this won't be so bad after all,_ she thought.

* * *

Josh immediately plopped down on his bed, feeling surprisingly exhausted, and after only his first day.

 _Tomorrow's gonna be even worse_ , he thought with a mental groan. _Well, at least Susan will be there._

He smiled. He liked her. She had a good attitude despite all the tedious aspects of the job, even retaining her rather humorous nature throughout all of it. She was respectful and even shared some of his feelings about certain things, but was still determined to be a reliable and trustworthy employee. In a weird way, he couldn't help but admire her for it.

His phone dinged indicating a new notification. It was a Facebook post from his girlfriend back home. He went to open it but stopped...and after a few seconds, he opened up his text app and pulled up Susan's number.

* * *

As soon as he got back to his apartment, Chris played back the message on his answering machine. Sometimes, he wouldn't bother calling back, depending on how he felt, but today, it felt necessary.

"Hey, Chris. What's up?"

"Not much," said Chris. "I got your message earlier. I took another look at it during lunch. Honestly, it looks pretty foolproof, so I don't think getting in or out that way would be too probable."

"Yeah."

"How are things going for you there?" Chris asked, realizing he hadn't inquired about his friend's life in a little while.

"Not too bad," he said. "Holiday's tomorrow, so we've had lots of preparation going on. Business as usual. How about you? You finally make any friends yet?"

"No, Daddy, I haven't," said Chris, shaking his head in amusement. "Although…" He trailed off, thinking back to the young man he stopped from going into the back room. The new recruit. _Josh, I think?_

"Although what?"

"Well, there is a new guy whom we have working there. He just started today. He's an interesting little fellow, I must say. I can tell just by looking into his eyes that he's curious."

"Curious about what?"

"Me, the place, the robots."

"What, so you think he might be able to help you?"

Chris sighed. "I don't know yet. I think he's a little scared of me at the moment. Rebecca and the others already got him onboard about being suspicious of me. Still, I can't shake this sense that I might be able to get through to him somehow. I'll see what I can do."

"Hmm...interesting. Well, let me know how it goes. Have fun tomorrow, and don't eat all the pizza!"

"Oh, shut up," said Chris, laughing as he hung up.


	5. Behind Closed Doors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the Fourth of July at the restaurant and everybody has shown up. Unfortunately, suspicions are still high and not everyone has trustworthy intentions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a bit of a wait, but here it is. I hope you enjoy!

TUESDAY, JULY 4, 2017, 8:29 AM

" _Hi, you've reached Chris. I'm currently unable to take your call. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you whenever I can. Thank you."_

BEEP.

_"Hey, it's me. I know you probably already left for work by now, but I just wanted to wish you the best of luck today. Hopefully, everything goes well. Alright. Talk to later."_

END OF MESSAGE.

* * *

When Josh entered the pizzeria, he was surprised to find both of his managers standing in the lobby speaking to one another. They both had on professional attire: Rebecca had on a silver pantsuit, different from the brown one she previously wore, and Derek had on a black suit and tie. They looked over at him.

"Good morning, Josh!" said Derek in an ecstatic tone, reminding Josh very much of his sister. "Are you ready for the big day today?"

"I think so," said Josh, which was true. He had no idea what to expect but hoped it wouldn't be too much more tedious or challenging than the previous day.

"Good to hear!" he said with a smile. "Sorry I couldn't be here for your first shift yesterday, but being a manager has its busy days sometimes. I heard you did pretty well."

"I got through it," said Josh.

"So I see," said Derek. "Well, not much going on this morning. Go meet with Susan and see what she needs help with.

"Okay."

He headed off to the break room, hoping to find Susan there, but it was empty. _She must already be out there_ , he thought. As he shuffled into his work clothes, he realized that there was no foul smell like there had been the day before. He thought it had something to do with the room and the ventilation, but when looked up at the vent, he saw that it was operating perfectly, with a small, trance-like hum coming from it as it blew out clean air. _Maybe they fixed whatever it was?_

But he couldn't worry about that now. As he clocked in, he noticed that he was a minute late. He rushed out to the cafe area and found Susan standing there with Rebecca.

"...so that we don't have any issues, you know?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Well, looks like your partner in crime is here, so I'll leave you both to it. Make sure you fill him in." Rebecca gave him a smile as she turned and walked away.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Just letting me know to make sure we keep our eyes open today."

Josh's face fell slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's a big day today, so there's a greater chance of something happening."

"Like what?"

"I don't know!" said Susan, growing a little irritated. "Like a child falling and getting seriously hurt, or someone trying to steal food from back here! Rebecca didn't go into detail, she just wants us to make sure we keep our eyes open to make sure everything goes smoothly!"

"Okay," he said, walking over to check the soda machine. "Sorry," he added quietly, half-hoping she would hear. She didn't.

It was a boring morning. Most of the preparations were decorations done by the planning committee, though he and Susan did have to help move a few things. Though he had only been working there for a day, Josh felt that the building had a noticeably different aura to it, like there was something unique about this day, and not just because it was a holiday. Something felt...different.

After what seemed like forever, the place finally opened. Immediately, the place was filled almost to the brim with screaming kids and music from the animatronics, who began playing a special set of independence day arrangements. Some of them actually sounded decent, like the rather emphatic rendition of "God Bless America," while others were more laid-back and average like one would expect from an animatronic band.

Within minutes, Josh and Susan had a line of customers to deal with. Some of the orders were rather large, almost three times as much as usual. Josh figured it was for a large party waiting for their food somewhere. Nevertheless, they managed their way through the line and hit a break after about forty-five minutes.

"Whoo! That was fun, wasn't it?" Susan asked with a grin.

"Oh yeah. Very much so," Josh replied, matching her smile. "Makes me want to do this every day."

Susan laughed as she grabbed a rag to wipe the counter. "Is your family coming?"

"Sometime later, I think," said Josh.

"I'm curious to meet them. Your sister sounds like a real party."

"Oh, she is. Meanwhile, my brother's a party-pooper. And my parents…"

He paused, realizing that he was venturing into uncharted territory with his mother. Her concerns came back to mind, as did his run-in with Chris yesterday. Susan noticed this.

"What about your parents?" she asked.

He looked at her, debating on whether or not to tell her. It felt a bit too much like a personal matter to discuss, not to mention he felt a bit stupid mentioning it, but her eyes were yearning and trusting like she was really willing to listen to him. He sighed.

"Well, to be honest, my mother's a bit concerned about this place."

She looked confused. "Why's that?"

"Because of this place's past."

After a moment of bewilderment, she said, "What, about the you-know-what from thirty years ago?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Did Rebecca tell you about that?"

"Of course she did. She told everybody upon hiring them, but she assured us that she and Derek have taken special precautions to ensure that it doesn't happen again. Besides, it's been thirty years. I'm sure whoever it was is either dead or in jail somewhere."

"I know, but...still, my mom's a bit worried about all this, like there's something she's not telling us."

Susan shook her head. "Well, I've been working here for a few months now, and absolutely nothing strange has happened since then, so I doubt that that'll change today. Who knows? Maybe this can help her loosen up?"

Josh thought about it. _Actually, that may be true. Maybe Mom'll stop worrying so much after today and she'll get off my back about how work was every single day._

"Uh-oh," said Susan, causing Josh to turn to her.

"What?" he asked, half-expecting her to say something about the topic.

"Looks like we have a spill at table 3 over there. Think you can handle it?"

"Aye, Cap'n!" he said with a salute before grabbing the cleaning supplies and making his way over to the table.

As he began to wipe, he noticed Chris standing nearby, watching him closely. As soon as they locked eyes, he turned and walked away. Josh stared after him for a few moments before returning to his work, his curiosity still growing.

* * *

"Well, here we are!" Richard announced as the family pulled into the lot. Even after only being open for one hour, the parking lot was absolutely filled. The entire front of the building was completely decked out in red, white, and blue ribbons and balloons. Even the neon lights, though not as visible in the bright sun of midday, were flashing the colors of the nation's birthday.

"Yay!" Olivia squealed, causing Kendall to jerk. "I can't wait!"

As the four Phillips began to exit the vehicle, Olivia almost made a sprint for the entrance when her mother stopped her.

"Easy, honey. There's no rush to get inside," she said, her anxiety still evident in her tone.

"Sorry, Mommy."

Richard closed his door. "Kendall, could you grab your mother's appointment book?"

Kendall reached over and grabbed it from the console and gave it to his father. "Why does she need it again?"

"I think she wants to look for potential new clients while we're here. We're not really fit for the play structures anymore, you know?"

Kendall scoffed and gave his mother the book.

The change in noise level upon crossing the threshold was unbelievable. They approached the front desk. The man looked up at them with an uninterested look.

"Party of four?" he asked dully. Richard confirmed and paid the discounted amount. He gestured them to the main room ahead of them. As they walked by, Olivia caught his gaze. He looked at her like she was an unpleasant gust of wind blowing by him. It made her uncomfortable as she clung to her mother.

As they entered the main room, they were greeted by the sound of screeching children. A few kids brushed by Emma as they ran past, causing her to have to adjust her skirt.

"It's very noisy in here, isn't it?" she asked in a loud voice to her husband, who nodded. She turned to the animatronics which were in the middle of some jolly tune. Their movements were much more fluid and human-like than she imagined. The way they eyed their audience while singing and playing their colorful instruments was like a live performance by people. She couldn't help but wonder whether or not they were even real animatronics or simply people wearing costumes.

"Olivia!" came a familiar voice from nearby. They turned to see Cameron moving toward them as fast as he could with his limp. He was wearing a bright red shirt with blue pants, perfectly fitting fo the occasion.

"CAMERON!" Olivia shouted playfully, running over and giving him a hug. He winced slightly from the impact but hugged her back.

"Olivia. Take it easy on the poor fellow!" Emma barked.

"Oh, it's alright," said a woman from nearby, standing about five feet tall and wearing a red blouse and white skirt. Her face was round and covered in freckles, accented by blue eyes and topped by blond hair: Cameron's mother. "He doesn't really get out much, except for when he's playing with them."

"I just don't want the young man to get hurt," said Emma.

"It's alright, Mrs. Phillips," said Cameron. "Olivia may be full of energy, but I can take it. I've felt much worse at the physical therapist's office!"

"Well, promise me that you'll be careful," said Emma.

"We will, Mom! I promise!"

The pair of them went off toward the arcade area. Emma turned to Kendall.

"Keep an eye on them, would you, honey?"

Kendall sighed. "Okay, Mom." He walked off after them, completely unphased by the assignment. He knew there was no point in arguing.

"So where's our young trooper in action?" asked Richard.

"Probably over in the cafe area."

"You want to go see him?"

"I don't think he'll like us embarrassing him," said Emma, smiling.

"Yeah, you're right. That's what makes it more fun!" said Richard, causing them both to laugh.

* * *

"Order of three sandwiches, a mini-pizza, and fries!" Susan called out to Josh, who was already in the process of taking a small pizza out of one of the miniature ovens.

"Got it," said Josh as he reached for the pizza cutter.

"Oh, and two large drinks, too!" Susan added.

Josh groaned. There was always a last-minute addition to the orders. As he prepared the food, he struggled to maintain his calm demeanor. He placed the tray gently on the counter as the man thanked him and took it away. Josh turned back to the ovens to check on the other pizzas that were cooking when he heard a familiar voice.

"Excuse me? May I place an order?"

Josh froze as he heard Susan answer. "Of course. What'll it be?"

"Actually, may I have the young man standing over there take our order?"

Rolling his eyes, Josh turned to see his parents standing there with large grins on their faces. He sighed and stepped up to the register as Susan stepped aside, chuckling.

"What can I get for you today?"

"Can we get four sandwiches and some and two large orders of fries?" asked Richard.

"Certainly. Will that be all?"

"Let's see," said Richard, rubbing his chin in pretend thought. "How about four drinks to go with that?"

"Hey, Richard? I overheard Cameron's mother talking about how appreciative she is of Olivia playing with Cameron so much. Maybe we should get him something, too."

Richard nodded. "Make that five sandwiches and drinks."

Josh nodded as he input the order into the register.

"So how you doing, sport?" Richard asked.

Josh shrugged. "Not bad. Busier than yesterday, but that's the nature of the work, I guess."

"And who is this?" Emma asked, gesturing to Susan, who smiled again.

"A friend," said Josh.

Susan nodded. "I'm Susan," she said. _I'm glad he didn't just say we're coworkers. He is a friend._

"Nice to meet you, Susan," said Emma. "Have you been showing our little boy the ropes?"

Josh winced. _There it is! There's her doing her duty of drowning me in embarrassment again! Why do I bother doing anything at all? Seriously, why do I bother?!_

"Easy, hon. Let's not embarrass him in front of his girlfriend!"

Josh glared at his father, who wasn't faring any better.

"We'll get this order coming right up," he said in a cold voice.

He scrambled to prepare the fries and drinks while Susan competently made the sandwiches faster than he thought possible. Within a minute, the order was ready.

"Have a great day!" Josh announced in a forced cheery voice.

"You want us to save you anything, sport?" his father asked.

"Nah, I've got my lunch break to look forward to," said Josh.

Richard nodded. "See you around," he said as he and Emma walked away.

"They're so nice," said Susan.

Josh snorted. "Yeah, they are. That's totally why my cheeks are red and my forehead's hot. It's all the wonderful affection!"

Susan scoffed. "Oh cheer up. We've all had those moments. My parents do that to me, too. Just be grateful they love you so much."

* * *

Rebecca sat at her computer typing up her latest inventory report when she was interrupted by a sudden chill that seemed to blow by her like a gust of wind. Her desk fan wasn't on because the building's internal air conditioning was adequate. She turned to check the window, but it was only slightly cracked. Her thoughts began to drift elsewhere for the source when her watch beeped.

 _Looks like it's time,_ she thought, saving her work and logging off before getting up. She pondered who to unofficially leave in charge. _I'll let Susan know to keep an eye on things around here. She's pretty responsible._

* * *

"Look, Mommy. I'm a walrus!" said Olivia as she stuck two French Fries onto her teeth.

"Eat your food, 'Liv," said Emma.

"Thanks again for buying me lunch," said Cameron.

"Don't mention it, sport," said Richard as he nibbled on his sandwich. "I'm sure your parents would do the same for Kendall and Olivia."

"Yeah," said Cameron.

"So what have you kids been up to?" asked Emma. "Exploring the place?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Olivia. "They have a lot of cool arcade games! There's this one where you have to drive a snowmobile through all these hoops, and another one where you have to shoot all of the zombies…"

"Yes, well, let's maybe stick to the non-violent ones for a while, okay, hon?" said Emma.

"Kendall? You alright, sport?" asked Richard.

Kendall had been lost in thought staring at the animatronics. He'd seen them advertised on TV and in magazines before, but this was his first time seeing them in-person. So far, they looked pretty normal, at least from here. He was having a hard time trying to figure out why his mom was so concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something."

"Well, if you're that interested in robots," said Richard, catching the direction of his gaze, "I think I have a few more books you might like."

Kendall smiled. "Cool."

"I'm done!" announced Olivia. "Come on, Cameron. I want to check out the playscape!"

"Okay," said Cameron, grabbing his cane and walking after her as fast as he could.

Emma turned to Kendall with raised eyebrows. Kendall knew what it meant.

"Don't worry. We'll save your food for later," said Richard. Kendall nodded and got up to go after them.

"Ooh!" Richard groaned as he downed the rest of his drink. "You know what? I need to use the restroom. Hopefully, the line's not too long."

"I think it's over there," said Emma, pointing across the room. He got up and disappeared into the crowd. Emma sat at the table, glancing around the room. So far, everything appeared relatively normal, with no sign of anything bizarre about to happen.

 _But then again, it did last time, too,_ she thought, _right before-No! It's the past. Don't even think about it!_

She watched the animatronics play. It really was amazing how fluidly they moved, as opposed to the more robust movements that she was used to. It really looked like someone was inside of a costume, and could easily reach out at any point and…

_No! Stop thinking like that. It's no good to keep imagining the worst. Maybe Richard's right. Maybe it is all in my mind. After all, technology certainly is more advanced than it was before._

She continued watching the robots and the sea of kids near them that she initially failed to notice that a man had approached her. It wasn't until he cleared his throat that she turned to him.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

She looked up to see a short man with black hair and dark brown eyes looking at her. He was wearing a thin, brown jacket over a light gray T-shirt.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

"I couldn't help but notice you talking with the Johnsons a few moments ago."

It took her a minute to realize that he was referring to the couple with whom she had just secured a work appointment with.

"Ah, yes. Are you interested?"

"Not so much me personally," said the man, "but my wife's been interested in cosmetics recently, and I'm trying to dissuade her from buying those expensive kinds online."

"Well, is she here?" Emma asked, peering around.

"No, as a matter of fact, she isn't. She's an event coordinator and has another commitment downtown today."

"Well then what brings you here?" Emma asked curiously. "Do you have a kid here?"

"Yes! He's...around here somewhere." The man began looking around. "That darn Timothy, always wandering off." He gave a light laugh. "You know how kids are, right?"

She nodded in agreement, although there was something interesting about this man. He looked and sounded friendly, but his eyes were constantly wandering around like he was looking for something other than a child.

"So which one's yours?" he asked.

"I have three," she replied. "One's back behind the counter in the cafe, and the other two are somewhere around here."

"Ah, getting the young man working then, huh?" the man said with a chuckle. "Yeah, Audrey and I are thinking about doing the same thing with Tommy when he gets older. Teach him how to work hard and reap the rewards, just like my dad always told me."

Her eyes narrowed. "Who's Tommy?"

He looked slightly taken aback. "My kid. He's around here somewhere."

"I thought you said his name was Timothy?"

He paused. "Oh, that's right!" he said in a slightly flustered voice. "It's those crazy T names, you know? Personally, I wanted to call him Tommy, but my wife-"

"-probably knows how to lie better, if she even exists," said Emma curtly. She had enough experience dealing with people like this from past jobs that she could smell them out rather quickly.

The man was absolutely speechless. For a few moments, he wanted to fight to keep his story going, but as he gazed into her searching eyes, he knew it was hopeless. With a sigh, he sat down.

"Alright, you win. I don't have a kid, but I really do have a wife." He pulled a badge out of his pocket. "The name's Jack Samson. I'm a private investigator here in St. Louis."

Emma stared down at the badge. It looked legitimate, with his name clearly etched into the bronze. She looked back up at him.

"Well, what are you doing here?"

He gave a quick glance around, checking for eavesdroppers. Seeing none, he leaned in close.

"I recently received an anonymous tip about this place."

She stared back at him, speechless for a few moments. "What kind of tip?" she asked, her worry beginning to grow again.

"I'm not entirely sure," said Jack. "Something about illegal activity being conducted here."

She gasped silently. Her breath quickened and her stomach churned. "What kind of illegal activity?" she said in an anxious voice.

He shook his head. "I don't know. Quite frankly, I'm not even one-hundred percent sure whether or not the claim is valid. I get a lot of tips from people, some of them legitimate, others not so much. That's what I'm here to find out. For all I know, it could be some paranoid patron who's worrying about one of the animatronics looking at them kind of weird or something like that."

"But what if it _is_ legit?" she asked him.

For a few moments, he gave her no answer, mainly because he had no answer to give. Personally, he was hoping that wouldn't be the case.

"Let's just say...if there really is something fishy going on in this place, we'll go from there." After another few seconds of silence, he stood up. "Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you. I didn't mean to frighten you or ruin your day or anything. Hopefully, there's nothing to worry about, but rest assured that I'll keep looking around." He gave her a small smile in an attempt to calm her down. "You know, you're pretty clever. You ever thought about being a detective."

She shook her head. "I don't think I can handle dealing with the stress every day. I'll stick with cosmetics, thanks."

"Well, if you ever change your mind, here's my card." He reached into his pocket and gave her his business card. It read JACK SAMSON: P.I. in bold, green letters, followed by his contact information. She nodded.

"Thanks."

"I trust you can keep this little chat between us?" said Jack. "Just so we don't cause a scene?"

She hesitated, silently debating whether or not calling attention to the suspicion would actually do more harm than good, but nodded.

"Good," he said. "Oh, and by the way, I wasn't kidding about my wife's interest in cosmetics. May I get in touch with you sometime in the future?"

She nodded again. "Yes, that would be fine."

He smiled and walked away right as Richard finally came back.

"Who was that?" he asked her, watching Jack disappear back into the crowd.

She looked at her husband. _Should I tell him? What would he say? Would he take it seriously or reassure me that it's all probably a hoax anyway?_

"A potential new client," she remarked.

* * *

Chris stood by himself against a wall, watching the children running around and screaming. Aside from the slightly different theatrics by the animatronic band, it was the same old scene as it always was. But today was different. Today was the day that it would all end...if everything went well. All he had to do was wait and watch for the right opportunity.

After growing bored of standing in the main room, he moved over to the room with the play structures. Peering inside, he saw that it was the same as always in here, too. There was, however, something of interest. He noticed a trio of children, two older boys and a younger girl, hiding beneath one of the slides. One of the boys in particular looked strikingly similar to the new employee, Josh.

_Sibling, perhaps? I wonder if he's told them about me at all._

As Chris turned away, he noticed a cane laying against the wall.

* * *

"Are they gone yet?" asked Olivia as she peered out from beneath the slide.

"Who are we even supposed to be hiding from again?" asked Kendall.

"The bears who were chasing us! Didn't you see them?"

Kendall looked up in pretend thought. "Oh, yes. Silly me. I forgot!"

"There they are!" said Cameron, pointing over at a random spot near the wall. "I think they gave up. They're leaving!"

"Kendall, you go first. Make sure the coast is clear," said Olivia.

Groaning, Kendall emerged from beneath the slide and gave a very exaggerated look both ways, followed by a heavy sigh of relief. "Yep, they're gone."

"Oh, thank goodness!" said Olivia as she helped Cameron out. "I was so worried we would get eaten!"

"Yeah, close shave, huh?" said Kendall.

"I'll go check to make sure our food is still safe. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere, honeykins." Olivia ran over to their makeshift hiding spot. Kendall winced at the pet name and Cameron chuckled.

"You know, she really likes it when you play along," he said.

"Yeah, I figured," said Kendall. "The thing is, I've been having to play these games with her all my life. I was hoping that she'd find someone else to play with one of these days so I wouldn't always end up being the sucker stuck with her."

Cameron said nothing. Kendall looked at him and noticed that his eyes went wide.

"I'm sorry," said Kendall. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just...after a while, her games just get a little annoying, you know? It gets frustrating. I guess I was a little pent up."

Cameron still said nothing. After a few seconds, he looked down at the floor with his mouth curled into a frown. He looked like he was trying to understand but wasn't quite able to.

"And hey! You seem to really like my sister. Maybe it is a good thing that the two of you are playing together so much!" Kendall continued, hoping that he was adequately covering his error.

Cameron continued glancing around at the floor and walls, absorbing the words and clearly trying to avoid eye contact. After a few more moments of silence, he squinted at the nearby wall.

"Where's my cane?"

Kendall was slightly taken aback. "Your cane?"

"Yeah, I left my cane against that wall over there!" said Cameron, pointing at a spot near the entrance to the room. Kendall looked over and saw nothing against the wall.

"It's not there," said Kendall.

"Yeah, I know! I'll go see if I can find it. My parents won't be happy when they hear I've lost it."

"You want me to come with you?" Kendall asked.

"No, I'm fine," said Cameron as he began his stagger towards the main room. "Stay here with Olivia. Tell her I'll be right back." Although he did his best to hide it, Kendall could detect hurt in his voice.

 _He doesn't want to be around me now,_ he thought. _Great. Why did I have to say that? I'm an idiot!_

"Okay, food's still safe!" Olivia announced as she practically bounced her way back over to her brother. She noticed Cameron's absence and frowned. "Where's Cameron?"

"His cane's missing," said Kendall. "He went to go find it!"

"By himself?" she asked, sounding absolutely horrified. "What if he trips and falls? We should go with him!"

"He didn't want me to leave you by yourself," said Kendall. "Besides, it probably just got picked up by an adult who thought it was something else. It's probably in the lost-and-found. I'm sure he'll be right back."

She scowled at him. As badly as she wanted to go after Cameron, her mother told her not to leave Kendall's side. She sat down on one of the nearby benches and pouted.

"Well, I'm not playing anymore until he gets back!" she announced.

 _Hallelujah_ , thought Kendall as he sat down next to her, waiting for Cameron to return.

* * *

Cameron looked around the entire area near the entrance to the playroom from which he came. He was hoping he would see it lying on the ground somewhere, knocked over and kicked around by the traffic. Unfortunately, it was nowhere in sight. Sighing, he resigned himself to having to tell his parents. As he made his way over to where he last saw them, he noticed a man wearing a black suit whom he recognized as one of the managers.

Maybe he can help.

Cameron slowly approached the man right as he finished up a conversation with a patron. He turned to the child as he approached.

"Excuse me, sir?" Cameron asked.

"Yes, young man. How can I help you?" said Derek.

"I don't know what happened to my cane!" said Cameron.

"Your cane?"

"Yes, my walking cane! I left it over there against that wall and now it's gone!"

Derek took a look over at the wall. He furrowed his eyebrows before turning back to Cameron with a smile.

"Not to worry, young man," he said. "Come with me. Maybe someone picked it up and put it with the lost-and-found stuff. Come along."

From the other side of the room, Chris caught a glimpse of his boss walking away with the child. With a burst of determination, he followed.

* * *

"Where is Cameron?" Olivia asked. "He should have been back by now!"

"He's probably taking his time!" said Kendall. "Have you seen how crowded it is in here?"

"He's been gone forever!"

"He has not. It's only been five minutes."

"I'm going to check." Olivia hopped off of the bench she'd been sitting on and began fastly walking in the direction that Cameron had gone. Kendall hopped up and hurried after her. They glanced around the main room for any sign of Cameron's brightly-color shirt, but no sign of him.

Olivia gave a worried grunt which caught Kendall's attention.

"What?" he asked.

"He wouldn't just disappear like this," she said miserably.

"How do you know? We've only known him for like a week!"

"Yeah, but whenever he leaves he always comes back. Just like in the jungles!"

Kendall rolled his eyes. Her fantasies were really starting to get annoying. He noticed her eyes beginning to water.

"Look," he said, trying to calm her down. "We'll go ask Josh and see if he can help, okay?"

She sniffled and nodded.

* * *

Josh handed the hot tray of food to the man, whose children were tugging at his arm to get their hands on it. He shushed them as he handed Josh the money. As they began walking away, one of the kids dropped his soda, which spilled all over the floor.

 _Of course_ , Josh thought, annoyed. He gave the kid a new soda and grabbed the mop and bucket. As he cleaned the mess, he wondered what could be taking Susan so long. She'd gone in the back to grab more napkins about five minutes ago, probably because she didn't really trust him to do it after what happened yesterday. Still, five minutes to grab napkins? Something was up.

He returned the mop and bucket and placed a wet floor sign down. As soon as he got back behind the counter, he was greeted by that unmistakable stench again. He almost gagged at how repulsive it was. It smelled even stronger now than it did before, like rotting flesh mixed with a sewer's odor. He briefly examined some of the machines to see if they were malfunctioning in any way, but none of them appeared damaged.

And then...from directly above him came a small thump. He looked up to see a ventilation shaft. Through the grating, he thought he could make out what looked like an eye. Before he could study it further, there was another thump and both the eye and the smell were gone. He stood there staring blankly up at the vent for a few moments as he struggled to process what he had witnessed while the normal cool air blew back onto him once again.

"Josh!"

Josh turned to the noise, looking around for a customer. When he saw his siblings, he groaned.

"What?"

"We can't find Cameron anywhere!"

Josh looked confused. "Wasn't he just with you?"

"He was, but he went to find his cane and we haven't seen him since!" Olivia chimed in.

"Well, maybe he's having trouble finding it. Give him time, he'll be back. Besides, I can't leave my post right now."

"Could you help us find him? Please?" asked Olivia with pleading eyes.

Josh turned to his brother, who was giving him the same look only more out of annoyance. He briefly scanned the room, hoping that he'd spot Cameron somewhere and get out of this since Susan still hadn't returned and he didn't want to get yelled at. Unfortunately, Cameron was nowhere to be seen. He sighed heavily.

"Alright, but only for a few minutes," he said.

Gesturing with his finger, he led them into the playroom with the mechanical rides. It, too, was full of kids, but given its significantly smaller size than the main showroom, it didn't take long to deduce that Cameron wasn't here.

"Come on," said Josh. He led them into the arcade room. A similar scenario with an equally fruitless result. "You said he lost his cane?"

"Yeah. He couldn't find it anywhere!" Olivia exclaimed with worry growing stronger by the second.

Josh sighed and led his siblings back into the main room. He scanned the crowd of kids who were preoccupied with the animatronics. It took a few minutes, but he finally realized that Cameron wasn't there, either. He noticed one of his coworkers standing nearby, keeping an eye on the children.

"Hey, Gerald?" Josh called out. "Where do we keep our lost-and-found stuff?"

"Up front," said Gerald, pointing with his thumb. "It's the small bin sitting near the front desk."

Josh led the other two up to the front desk. There was Gary, still as excited as ever to be part of the world.

"Gary. Where's the lost-and-found?"

Without a word, he pointed at the small, green bin next to the nearby wall. In it was nothing but a hoodie and a pair of tennis shoes. Josh turned back to Gary.

"Is this it?"

Gary nodded.

Josh turned back to his siblings. "You said Cameron had lost his cane, right?"

They both nodded, Olivia slightly more assertively.

Josh sighed. "Well, let me ask my boss. Wait here."

He led them to one of the benches and walked back inside over to Rebecca's office.

"Hey, Rebecca? I was wondering-"

It was empty. Her computer was on, but the display was just a screensaver of a small plush animatronic bear that looked like it was dancing for joy. Aside from that, it looked like she hadn't even been there at all, with her purse and overcoat gone.

 _That's weird_ , Josh thought. _She said she'd be here if I needed her. Wonder where she went._

A loud cheering suddenly erupted from the main room behind him, causing him to jump again like he had during his interview. Even through the wall, the noise was startling.

Looks like the animatronics have started their net set, he thought grimly as he headed back to the bench where he had left his siblings...only to discover the bench was empty.

* * *

As soon as Josh had disappeared to go find his boss, Olivia started bouncing her legs anxiously on the ground, shaking the bench.

"Could you stop that?" said Kendall.

"I'm worried about Cameron! He would never just disappear like this! And he always knows exactly where his cane is! Do you think someone took it?"

Kendall opened his mouth to say "Why would someone take a walking cane?" but stopped. Perhaps it was just paranoia, but suddenly something didn't quite feel right. There was a chill in the air that he hadn't noticed before. He shivered; it felt eerily similar to the one he'd felt the day before while on the playground right before he saw…

His mind flashed back to that mysterious and creepy face peering out of the bushes at him. He remembered how uncomfortable he felt in its gaze as if the whole world had dissolved around him and he was taken into its otherworldly reality.

After a few seconds, the chill passed, as if whooshed away. He turned to Olivia and saw that she was shivering.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm cold!" she said.

"You mean...you felt cold, too?"

"Yeah!"

Kendall's heart would've leaped in encouragement had his confusion and concern not been so strong. At least he was just imagining things, although he still was unclear whether that made it better or worse.

"What is that?" Olivia suddenly cried in a quiet yet panicky voice. She was pointing at the doorway into the main room. Kendall turned just in time to see a black figure slipping inside. Just before it disappeared from view, it turned to look at him, and he recognized a familiar white face.

"Come on," he said, getting up.

"But Josh said stay here!"

"We won't be long," he said as he pulled her to her feet. "I want to check something out."

Without another word, he led her back into the main room.

* * *

Susan returned to the cafe only to find the counter deserted. She groaned in frustration. _Really? At the worst possible time? Where did he go?_

She scanned the noisy crowd, searching for her coworker amongst the chaos. It wasn't easy keeping the food center up and running by herself on one of the busiest days of the year, and the fact that Rebecca had just informed her minutes ago that she had to go out on an errand didn't help. That boy was already getting on her nerves with some of his antics. She figured maybe it would be best to keep him on cleaning duty for a few days to teach him responsibility.

As she rambled in her thoughts, she was greeted by one of her other coworkers who showed up for his shift.

"Hey Susan," he said.

"Hey Timmy," she said with a smile. "Listen, can you hold down the fort for a few minutes? I need to go track down the new guy?"

"Slacking off already?" he asked with a grin. "Oh dear. I suppose you're gonna wanna give him a good talking-to?"

"You know it," said Susan as she stormed off to go give Josh a piece of her mind.

* * *

As Kendall and Olivia walked back into the main room, Kendall suddenly felt like he was being watched again. He looked around for the source, a mysterious black figure, but didn't see anything in the crowd. His eyes fell on the animatronics, which were still singing their songs. It had to be the fifth time going through the set, but he wasn't paying attention. He remembered his mother telling him about the animatronics, about their dead but lifelike eyes and movements. He watched the bear standing on its podium, singing into a microphone in a booming bravado voice, its rhythmic, mechanical movements smooth and flowing. It looked down at him, and Kendall felt unnerved in its gaze. He prayed that it was all paranoia, that it wasn't actually looking at him but just seemed like it. In his fear, he wondered just how advanced their computerized recognition programs were, how they saw people, what a person even was in their minds. What was this animatronic seeing him as? A child? A young adult? A mindless robot like itself...possibly? After a few seconds, the unblinking eyes turned away as the song continued.

"Kendall! What's back there?" Olivia said. She was pointing at a door along the back wall.

"I don't know. Probably the place where they keep all the spare parts...and where they fix the animatronics when they go down." It only made sense, since there had to be an area where everything was kept, which he hadn't seen anywhere else.

"Maybe he went back there!" said Olivia.

"Why would he go back there?"

"I don't know. Maybe he went looking for his cane back there!"

"But isn't the lost-and-found up front?" said Kendall.

"Maybe he saw he wasn't in there!" Olivia retorted.

Kendall said nothing. He was growing increasingly irritated by his sister's annoying suggestions. _Why would he go in the back? There's no reason to go back there! His cane has to be out here somewhere, in the clutches of some other meddling kid._

"Cameron?" she said suddenly.

"What?" said Kendall.

Olivia ran over to the door and pressed her ear against it.

"I think I heard him!"

"You _heard_ him?" said Kendall, walking up next to her and placing his ear against the door as well. "How can you hear anything in this noise?"

"I heard him shout!" said Olivia. "I think he's in trouble!"

She grabbed the door handle and began pulling on it. The door was heavy, too heavy for her arms to manage. Kendall grabbed the door and stopped it.

"Olivia, we can't go back in there! We're not allowed!"

"Didn't you hear that?" Olivia cried. "And it's cold again!"

Kendall stopped. He noticed that she was right. There was an eerie chill emitting from the door, the exact same mysterious one from before, although now it felt even stronger as if he had opened the door to a freezer.

Out of nowhere from somewhere inside, a loud cry echoed out, causing both of them to jump. Kendall turned back to the restaurant, but nothing had changed. The outside environment had not changed and everyone was still going about their business, completely endless to what he and his sister were experiencing.

"He's back there. I know it!" said Olivia with determination.

Kendall hesitated. He still didn't feel completely comfortable with this plan, but that cry really did sound like Cameron's. If he really was back here somewhere and in trouble, someone should help him. Maybe their parents…

But before he could continue his thought, Olivia brushed by him and squeezed through the gap in the doorway, which was just barely big enough to fit her.

"Wait, Olivia!" he said, pulling the door open and entering in behind her. After a few feet, he caught up to her and grabbed her.

"We need to get help."

"But Cameron!"

"I know, but maybe Mom and Dad can help. We don't know what's back there. What if it's an intruder?"

"So?"

"So...you wanna go after someone who might have a knife or a gun? Well...do you?"

Olivia began to cry softly. "I don't wanna leave him here alone!"

Kendall opened his mouth but he heard the door opening behind him. In a panic, he pushed his sister into the closest room he could find a few yards down the hall. Although it was dark, he could tell it was a small supply closet, judging by the damp smell and the wooden broom handle and plastic bucket he was pressing against.

Outside the door, footsteps echoed through the hallway. As they approached, Kendall's heart began thumping harder and faster in his chest. It felt just like that movie _Rise of the Sentients_ when the main character was hiding in a similar environment from a deranged-looking robot that was stalking him through a building. Thankfully, the guy got away, but only after a tense wait and a bladder-emptying jumpscare. As the footsteps grew closer, he began to imagine the face that would pop out from the darkness they were found. He closed his eyes, hoping it wouldn't be like in the movies.

Olivia was shaking from head to foot. She didn't know what was going on...or what was happening to Cameron. She was always brave in their games together, but she didn't imagine going off on an actual mission. All of her courage was gone. She was paralyzed on the spot, and Kendall, her older brother who always guarded and reassured her, was just as shaken as she was by the looks of him, which only made the situation worse.

The footsteps outside finally reached the door that they were hiding behind. Despite her efforts, Olivia let out a small squeak. The footsteps stopped. Kendall stepped back as best as he could. The floorboard beneath him creaked.

A single footstep came from outside and within a second, the doorknob was turned and the door was flung open. Kendall gave a panicked yelp and lost his balance, nearly falling over in the process. He was about to cry out for help when he noticed his brother's eyes glaring down at him.

"Josh!" screamed Olivia as she embraced him in a tight hug. "We're so glad to see you!"

"What are you two doing back here?" said Josh, annoyed. "Even I'm not allowed back here...and I work here!"

"We followed Cameron back here!" said Olivia.

"What do you mean 'followed?'" said Josh. "The only people I saw coming in here were you two!"

"We heard him shouting back here," said Kendall.

Josh looked back and forth between his two siblings. Olivia was nodding frantically while Kendal said nothing at all.

"Why would Cameron be back here?" said Josh.

"Maybe the monster took him!" said Olivia.

Her brothers both looked at her in astonishment.

"What monster?" Kendall asked.

"The one wearing that big black coat! With the makeup on his face!"

Kendall and Josh locked eyes. Without any verbal confirmation, they both knew what she was referencing and could tell that the other had seen it before, too. Neither of them was sure whether to feel relieved that they weren't going crazy or even more nervous in light of the revelation.

"When did you see it?" asked Josh.

"Last night outside my window," said Olivia, making her brothers' hearts sink. "I woke up to go to the bathroom and when I came back to bed I saw him looking at me."

"Why didn't you tell us?" said Josh.

"Because he was gone right after he saw me, and then I woke up in the morning. I thought maybe it was a dream. But then…" She trailed off. Her lip began quivering and she looked like she was about to lose it again. Josh pulled her back into a hug.

"It's alright, 'Liv. Just tell me."

She wiped her eyes. "When Cameron first left to go find his cane, I thought I saw something following him, but I didn't see it for very long."

Kendall stood in silence. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He never noticed that. Why did Olivia tell him?

Josh sighed. "Well, let's take a little look around and see if he's back here. If something or someone was following him, maybe he's hiding from them in here somewhere."

Olivia nodded.

The hallway was surprisingly silent in contrast to the noise coming from outside the heavy door. The walls were stone and the lights above them were dim. It almost looked like something out of a horror movie. There were a few more single doors lining the wall leading to a set of thick double doors as the end. They slowly approached the first door and Josh pushed it open. It was some kind of storage room filled with boxes of machine parts and other accessories. Josh recognized a few spare guitars over along the wall for the animatronics, as well as some more safety straps here and there like the ones he and Susan had applied yesterday.

"Not in here," he said, pushing the others onward.

Inside the next room was some kind of research lab. There were monitors all over the wall showing various parts and assembly processes listing many terms with which they were all unfamiliar. There were also a few desks and tables scattered throughout the room.

"Whoa," said Kendall. "I didn't think that this place was so...technologically advanced."

Cautiously, they stepped foot inside and began examining the place a little closer.

"What is all this stuff?" asked Olivia. "Is this like those medicine labs we see on TV?"

"I don't think so," said Kendall. "I don't think medicine labs work with such weird chemicals." He noticed a few test tubes on one of the tables and picked one up to examine. As soon as he did, he was hit by a powerful stench. It smelled absolutely revolting, like decaying flesh mixed with sewer mush. Even through the glass, it made him want to vomit. He put it down and backed away from it slowly.

Olivia peered up at the contents of one of the desks. "What is this?" she asked.

Kendall walked over and took a look at it. "It looks like schematics," he said.

"What are those?" she said.

"It's like a blueprint," he said. "It's showing how something gets put together."

"Like the robots?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, skimming through some of the designs. Most of them were showcasing different animals, from rabbits to bears to foxes to owls. Most of them looked intriguing yet ordinary, but there was one in the mix that looked odd. There were no distinguishable features of it aside from being slightly humanoid. Its labels were much more complex and difficult to understand.

As he put them down, he noticed that Olivia was no longer standing beside him. Before panic could set in, he saw that she had gone over to see what Josh was looking at. As he turned to check more of the test tubes, that familiar chill hit him again. He turned to the hallway just in time to catch a glimpse of a dark shadow moving further down the hall.

Josh's attention was absorbed in a small container that sat in the corner of the room. It looked like a box specially-designed to carefully house and carry something important. After a moment's hesitation, he slowly reached up and opened the container slightly. As it opened, a small wave of immense heat came from it. Josh pulled his hand back, rubbing it on the spot where a superficial burn mark was already present.

Inside the box was a small container holding a glowing, orange substance. Judging by the heat, Josh's first thought was lava until he realized that actual lava would probably be too hot for even this high-tech container to handle. The liquid inside looked calm and unmoving with no heat bubbles simmering at the top. Josh shook his head. It didn't make sense. _How could something be so hot yet look so calm?_

"What is that?" came Olivia's voice from right next to him, making him jump.

"I don't know, 'Liv, but I don't want to find out," he said, quickly closing the box before the mysterious contents burned him again. "Let's just find Cameron and get out of here, okay?" He looked up and noticed that they were alone. "Where's Kendall?"

They checked around the room behind desks and tables, anywhere that their curious brother might have gone in his fascination with how things worked. He wasn't there.

"Where did he go?" said Josh.

"Maybe the monster got him, too!" said Olivia, sounding like she was about to start crying once again.

"Shh, don't say that," said Josh. "Maybe he's back in the hall."

To their great relief, they saw him standing in the doorway of the next room down the hall, looking inside.

"See? He's here, being fascinated by something, as usual," said Josh. As they approached, they noticed a horrified look on his face. "What is it, Kendall?" Josh asked.

But Kendall stood there silently, his lips quivering as he stared blankly ahead of him. Josh walked up to him, intending to shake him out of his trance, but when he approached his brother, he turned to the doorway through which his brother was gazing.

Standing there in the room were Derek and Chris. Chris was holding Derek firmly by the collar, their faces inches from each other's. Derek looked confused and terrified. His clothes were ruffled like he'd been dragged around and his face slightly bruised like he had been struck a few times. Meanwhile, Chris wore a look of murderous intent.

"I don't care about your stupid little rules!" he shouted as he shook Derek's shirt violently. "I told you before that I'm not your slave! Now give me the kid!"

Derek turned and looked to the corner. Chris followed his gaze and saw it. A dark shadow stood lurking in the corner. Its face was pale and it had a single, glowing eye, which illuminated from beneath a thick black hood. Kendall and Josh immediately recognized the figure, but Olivia's breathing quickened.

"What is that?" she whispered frantically, tugging at Josh's sleeve. "Josh, what is that?"

But Josh couldn't speak. All that filled his mind was the figure standing there. He could only stand there staring at it. Kendall stood frozen in his place as well. He couldn't tell from this distance in what direction it was looking, but it felt like it was staring right at him, paralyzing him with its deadly gaze. Olivia wanted to cry, but she was likewise too scared to even do anything except matching the creature's gaze as though she would get hurt if she moved.

"What is that?" shouted Chris. "And what is _that?!_ "

Following Chris's pointing finger, Josh looked down and nearly vomited on the spot. Laying firmly in the figure's grasp was Cameron's limp body; his head was lolling to one side and his body was lanky and appeared emaciated, but the most notable things were his eyes. They were open and ghostly black with what looked like a dark liquid leaking from them.

They were all startled by a sudden scream. Josh turned, expecting to have to calm his sister the best that he could, but was surprised to find Susan standing right behind them, unable to contain her own horror. The sound of her scream broke Olivia from her trance and she began screaming too.

The creature, also startled by the noise, embraced Cameron's body, tucking it beneath its cloak, and immediately disappeared from view. Chris gave Derek a hard shove. Derek fell front-first onto a pile of spare parts and gave an anguished scream. After a few moments, he fell to the floor, his ghost-like, unblinking eyes staring at the ceiling with a large metal pipe sunken deep into his now-bloody chest.

Chris turned and locked eyes with Josh. Josh stared back at this man, still at a loss for words. He studied Chris' face, from his twitching lip to his flaring nostrils. His eyes were frantic and lost; obviously, things had not gone the way he planned. Without a word, he charged at them.

Josh made to block him off but he was shoved violently to the ground. He got up to go after him, but Olivia's terrified scream turned his attention back to her. Kendall was holding her, trying to calm her down, and from the look on his face, he was struggling not to scream, too.

Susan was now sobbing. Following his brother's example, Josh walked over and pulled her into an embrace. By now, there were people running toward them through the now-open door into the main room. Some were asking what was wrong while others took notice of the manager's body lying motionless on the floor. Soon, Emma and Richard were there, both crying out in agony at the sight.

From there, everything happened in a blur. At some point, Josh's mind registered the smell of the main room and the sound of screaming and crying children. He couldn't concentrate on the finer details. All that he could think about was what he and his siblings had just witnessed: Derek's bloody body, Chris's expression, Cameron's lifeless body, and that horrible pale face hidden beneath the black hood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! That was a long one, wasn't it? I know I said I'd try to keep them shorter, but with how climactic this chapter was, there was actually I lot of detail and buildup that I felt needed to be included. To any avid readers who may have been eagerly awaiting this update, I apologize for the delay. Life's gotten a bit busy and hectic this month, and probably will be throughout next month too with the holidays still coming up. I'm not sure when my next update will be, but I will certainly try to get at least one more chapter out before the year's over. That said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
> 
> And to all my U.S. readers, I hope you had a good Thanksgiving. We all certainly have a lot to be thankful for this year!


	6. Past & Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the incident, the Phillips struggle to cope with their complexity of emotions, which includes reopening a few wounds. Their collection of bizarre reports causes Jack to seek help from an old friend.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017, 7:46 AM

_"Hi, you've reached Chris. I'm currently unable to take your call. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you whenever I can. Thank you."_

BEEP.

_"Hey, what's going on? You said you'd call me last night to fill me in on how it went. You know I hate assuming the worst, but all this silence coming from you lately is really starting to disturb me. This isn't like you at all. Please give me a call when you can. I'll be watching my phone."_

END OF MESSAGE.

* * *

"Okay," said Jack, sipping the coffee that Richard had made for him. "Let's take this again from the top. Your friend first disappeared when?"

"While we were in the room with the indoor playground," said Kendall. "He lost his cane and went off to find it."

"And when did you go looking for him?" asked Jack.

"Right after," said Kendall. "We couldn't find him anywhere, though, so we checked up by the lost-and-found and he wasn't there."

Jack nodded, scribbling something down on a small notepad. "Go on."

"So we sat down on the bench up front while Josh went to go find his boss, and then we…"

He trailed off. This was the part where he saw the mysterious figure again, and when he and Olivia both felt that uncomfortable chill in the air. _Should I tell them? Would they believe it?_

Jack was sitting in his chair, pencil frozen in hand as he waited for the rest of the story. "Yes?"

Kendall glanced nervously to his parents, who were both meeting his gaze, clearly as interested in the report as Jack was. Emma's eyes were wet but firm. He looked at his older brother. Josh was hesitant, too, but nodded.

"There was this... _thing_...that we saw. A black thing."

"What kind of black thing?" asked Jack, continuing to scribble notes.

"Well, it was dressed in a black cloak, but I don't think it was actually black underneath."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because its face was white."

"How do you know it wasn't just a person?"

"Because it had a mouth that looked like it was painted on."

"Could it have been a party mask?"

Kendall shook his head. "It also had one eye that was glowing."

"Okay," said Jack, reluctantly adding the note. "And you saw this, too?" he asked Josh.

Josh nodded. "Yeah. He's right. I...I don't know what it was, but it definitely wasn't human."

Jack sighed as he studied the notes he had just written. He hated whenever controversial things like this came up, but it was his job to write everything down and then sort it out later. With two witnesses, both clearly beyond the stage of childhood fantasies, reporting it, he had to investigate it. He turned to Olivia.

"Did you see this thing, too, honey?" he asked her calmly.

Olivia's face remained buried in her mother's shirt for a few seconds, but she nodded.

Jack's mouth curled. "Tell me more about this Chris Everett," he said.

"From what I hear, he's always been a shady guy," said Josh. "Everyone felt nervous around him."

"What?!" exclaimed Emma, so loudly that Olivia cried out in surprise. "So you _knew_ that there was somebody there who might do something? You LIED to me!"

"No, I didn't!" shouted Josh, half out of anger and half out of guilt. "Or...well...okay maybe I did, but that was back when I thought you were still just being...you know... _you_ about it."

"Being _me_ about it?" said Emma in shock. "Is that all you think I do? Worry? Is that all you think I _am_? Joshua Daniel Phillips, you have no idea what has made me worry about you all these years...about all three of you. There are things in this world that should never have to be seen by anyone, let alone a child."

"First of all, Mom, I'm not a child," said Josh, his anger rising. "Second, are you forgetting that I was there yesterday? I saw it, too!"

"Which you maybe wouldn't have had to if you'd told me about this creepy guy. Think about Cameron's parents, for goodness sake!"

Josh let out a breath of astonishment. "Wait, are you telling me that this whole thing is my fault?"

Emma huffed. "Well, I _am_ saying that none of this probably would've happened if you'd been upfront with me in the first place."

"Well, you know what? How's this for upfront? If that's how you really feel, then consider me outta here the second I turn eighteen, 'cause I'm done with you!"

Without another word, he got up and stopped loudly upstairs. A second later, they heard a door slam. Olivia started crying again. She hated when her parents and brother argued. It scared her. She wanted desperately to talk to Cameron about it, but then she remembered...and cried even harder.

Emma began tearing up as well and hugged her daughter, kissing her on the head. Kendall sat watching the two, feeling more uncomfortable than he ever had in his life. Between the horrifying events of yesterday and the explosive heat that had just ensued, it felt like the very fabric of life as they knew it was coming apart stitch-by-stitch.

Richard cleared his throat. "Well, I'm terribly sorry you had to witness that, detective. Is there anything else we can do for you?"

"No, that's quite alright," said Jack, also feeling more uncomfortable than ever. "In fact, I've pretty much got all I need. I'm actually on my way to speak to Miss Swift, the other boss. I'll be looking into it and keeping the police informed as I go. I appreciate your time."

"Not at all," said Richard. The two men got up together and he led the detective out. "Take care and good luck."

"Thank you, and the same to you," said Jack, nodding toward Emma and the others still sitting on the couch.

Richard closed the door and turned to his family. The sight of his wife and daughter crying together was heart-breaking, and he felt his own eyes misting. His son was still sitting in the chair, staring down at the carpet. Although he usually kept to himself and whose emotions were trickier to read, Richard could tell that he was also severely shaken up by the incident. He walked over to Emma and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up at him and he kissed on the forehead. She buried her face into his shirt. He'd never seen her like this before, the same way he never would have imagined such a tragedy would occur. He thought back to all of his dismissals of her concerns and he silently cursed himself for them.

* * *

Josh stared at his bedroom ceiling, still fuming from the heated argument as his fingers drummed along the top of the bed in a vain effort to calm him down. He couldn't believe it. After what had happened, how could his mother actually be blaming him for the whole thing? Sure, Chris Everett was a shady character, but he still remembered how convinced he was that Rebecca and the others had been keeping an eye on him.

_I guess we all underestimated just how far he would go to try and...do whatever it was he was trying to do. It's not my fault. We were all snowed...all of us: Rebecca, Derek, Susan._

Susan. He hadn't spoken to her ever since they left. She seemed to be absolutely terrified, given that it was actually her scream that began the panic. His heart felt heavier as he chastised himself for not checking in on her earlier.

The phone rang a few times before she picked up.

"Josh?" Her voice was thick with fear and horror.

"Hey. How are you holding up?" he asked.

She gave a loud cry of anguish. "How am I holding up? Josh, what happened? How could things go from being fine to...to _that_?!" Her voice was shrill and high-pitched.

"I don't know," said Josh. "I'm sorry," he added, trying to make her feel better. "I know I shouldn't have left my post like that. It's just my brother and sister needed help finding him, and…"

"It's not your fault," said Susan.

Josh grunted. "Try telling that to my mother. In her mind, everything is."

"Why would she think that?"

"Because I didn't tell her about Chris. As soon as I told the detective about it, she freaked."

"Well, she has a good reason to. That man really rubs me the wrong way, Josh. And look what he's done! A kid's gone missing and one of our bosses is dead! It's like those stories Rebecca told me about the old days are happening all over again!"

"You really think so?" asked Josh.

"It-I don't know. I haven't eaten or slept much since it happened. I just don't know what to think anymore. Part of me wants to believe that it's all a nightmare, but every time I look at the TV 'cause my dad won't shut it off, I know it's not."

"Yeah," said Josh. "I didn't really sleep that much last night."

"Me, neither," she said. "I just can't stop thinking about that poor boy...and his parents. Everyone's still saying that he's missing, but after what we saw...there's...there's no way that he could still be alive...is there?"

Josh hesitated. He hadn't thought of that. He remembered Cameron's body, how unusually thin it looked, like an emaciated version of its former self. He remembered how his eyes appeared to be leaking something black. However, he didn't recall seeing any blood, at least not from Cameron. He assumed it was death, especially with what happened to Derek, but what if it actually weren't the case? What Cameron was actually still alive? Still in that thing's clutches somewhere out there?

"Josh?" came Susan's voice, once again heavy with emotion. Apparently, she'd been fighting back more of her fear in his silence.

"Yeah, I'm here," he said. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"I don't know," he said, dismissing his theory. "I've just been thinking a lot since this happened. If I actually thought this much in school, I'd be Harvard-bound."

She chuckled, which made him smile. It was a sound he'd grown rather fond of hearing.

"Oh, so I'm friends with a flunkie," she said, attempting to make lighthearted conversation, though her voice was still heavy.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"No, don't be. I'm actually glad you called. I needed it."

"Good," said Josh, his heart fluttering a little bit.

"So what do we do now?" she asked.

It was a good question. It was so strange. After only two days of work, he was already pretty much laid-off, along with everyone else. With the recent incident already in the news and the past of the franchise awakening from hibernation, there was no way that the restaurant would reopen again...at least not for another very long time. Perhaps in another thirty years with another promise to a new generation of untainted people that nothing could ever go wrong, assuming there were no suspicious characters lurking about.

"I have no idea."

* * *

Jack sat in his desk chair, staring down at the notes he'd taken. He'd already taken reports from several other witnesses at the scene at the police's urging, but there was something about the Phillips' testimonies that intrigued him. It wasn't just the fact that they were the only ones to actually witness the events, along with Susan Gregory. As they told their story, he remembered that fearful look in their eyes. It was a look that could only ever be worn by someone who witnessed something traumatic and could not be matched by anyone else. He'd seen that look before but was struggling to remember when.

He flipped through his notes, studying every single word etched lightly on the paper reflecting the disappearing sun. Out of the three Phillips children, it was the eldest son's report that was the most coherent, which made sense. The young man talked about how he'd just begun working there only days earlier, how normal everything had seemed at first, and suddenly, everything went to hell. It was the same as nearly everyone else's reports, except for one thing: the mysterious cloaked figure that had been reported.

Jack flipped to and re-examined the middle son's report. He'd been more shaken up but still determined to tell the story. While his report was obviously different in many ways, the one common bond that his and his brother's stories shared were the similar experiences they had concerning this figure. It brought chills to his spine just imagining it.

Unfortunately, the youngest child had barely said anything useful, given her young age and distraught mind. The one noteworthy thing she did say was about none other than the same thing: the figure. Although she didn't say much else, Jack could tell as he watched her cry into her mother's shirt that the young missing boy, whom they insisted had been killed, was very close to her. It almost made him tear up as well, but he shook his head with determination and continued his work.

Then there was the report from Susan Gregory. This was the icing on the cake because she wasn't related to the Phillips, which added to their credibility. Unfortunately, she was too flustered to give great details about this mysterious figure, but he'd managed to pull out the familiar details. Whatever this thing was, it certainly wasn't something of the imagination.

In addition to continuous questions from the police, he'd already received three calls from concerned parents over the course of the day frantically asking for an update. He'd kindly referred them over to the police if they needed anything, but he was busy. It still amazed him that he happened to be in the right place when it happened, so the police were quick to officially hire his services. If only he'd seen it for himself, then he'd have more to go off of. He still wondered who it was that had given him the anonymous tip. Could it have been the boss, Rebecca Swift? Possibly, but when he'd spoken to her earlier, she seemed too oblivious to who he was, giving no sign of recognition.

_Someone must've known._

His cell phone buzzed. It was a text from his wife.

_Hi hon. I know ur busy but if u get the chance could u plz pick up some milk & butter on the way home? Thx._

He groaned but answered affirmatively. He was about to set his phone down when a thought occurred to him.

_I wonder what he remembers._

Scrolling through his contacts, he found the number that he hadn't called for a few years. As he listened to the ringing tone, he wondered whether or not his friend still had his number and would recognize the caller. After about twenty seconds, he got a response.

"Hello?"

"Jason?" he asked proactively.

"Speaking," said his friend's voice. "Who's calling?"

"It's Jack."

There was a pause for a few moments. Jack waited patiently for a response, unsure of what he would hear.

"Hmm...Jack. Jack who?"

"Jack Samson, from high school."

"Samson, Samson. Sorry. Doesn't ring a bell. Now if your voice was a little higher and squeakier, then I might believe it."

Jack rolled his eyes. "I told you, my voice was never squeaky," he said as he heard Jason laughing on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, whatever you say. How've you been? It's been, what...four years since the last time we talked?"

"Four and a half," said Jack. "We had a few drinks in that run-down bar in Cleveland the day before Christmas Eve."

"Oh, yes. Thanks again for driving me home. I swear, I've _never_ tasted vodka that dry."

"Neither have I," said Jack, chuckling.

"You a big shot yet? I've been reading some online reports lately about some pretty crazy nut jobs being a little too resistant to Georgia's new driving laws," said Jason.

"No, actually. I ended up moving last year. Atlanta was getting a little too hot for my taste. I'm in St. Louis now."

"Ooh, St. Louis. Well, you're certainly moving up in the world. How's that going for you?"

Jack hesitated before answering. "It's alright, I guess. What about you?" he said, wanting to distract himself for as long as he could before he had to get down to business. "How's your sister?"

"Marla? Fine. In fact, she just got engaged last month."

"Really? That's great. Tell her I said congrats," said Jack in a low voice. He heard Jason chuckle.

"Yeah, it looks like you two aren't gonna work out after all."

"What do you mean?" said Jack defensively.

"I remember how interested you were in her in high school."

"I wasn't interested in her!" Jack protested. "Really! She was just your sister...who's about five years older and was already well out of college at the time."

"Uh-huh. It had nothing to do with her 'cute eyes' or 'pretty hair'?" Jason teased.

"Okay, fine. So maybe I was interested in her. But who wouldn't be? She's a beautiful woman."

"Yeah, she is," said Jason.

"Besides, the past is the past. I've already got a woman."

"True. How is Audrey?"

"She's fine. Her business is still expanding, so that's a plus. Anyway, congrats again to your sister. She's quite a woman."

"Yep. Her fiance knows so, too. Great guy. You've never met him, but we kind of go back a little, too."

"How's the business?" asked Jack, still wishing to make the momentary distraction last.

"Well, things have been kind of hectic for the last couple of months, but we're hanging in there. Unfortunately, my latest game idea fell through. Imagine a game where you find yourself sneaking into an abandoned mall to look around only to find yourself in the middle of a decade-old plot involving state-of-the-art machines that go awry and try to kill you."

"Sounds interesting, though a little violent," said Jack.

"Well, it sounds a lot worse than it actually is...or at least would've been. I wanted to put more emphasis on the human aspect of it rather than the technology. Not that it matters anyway. Apparently, there's already a very similar game that some guy named Scott created a year or two ago, so my superiors shut me down on that one. Unbelievable! All of my experience and I get vetoed simply because I'm late to the party? I'd like to ask some of these other developers what they know about watching a murderer in a yellow bunny suit kidnap their friends in front of them."

There was a pause, followed by a sigh.

"But anyway...enough about me. What can I do for you, old buddy?"

"Well, actually, since we're kind of on the topic, there's something important I need to ask you," said Jack.

"Sure. What's up?"

Jack tapped his finger nervously on his desk. The tapping was probably audible on the other end, so he didn't want to mince words.

"Remember that night...like a week before graduation...when we snuck into that abandoned theme park to see if those ghost stories were true?"

"Hmm...I can't recall. Did it involve you screaming like a little girl when you got jump scared by a raccoon?" Jason asked.

Jack cringed. "Yeah, that's the one."

"What about it?"

"Well...you told me something that's actually interested me for years."

"Really? What?"

After another moment of hesitation, he spoke: "Freddy Fazbear's."

A dead silence fell upon them. At first, Jack wasn't sure whether or not his friend was still on the line.

"What about it?" Jason asked, his tone suddenly lower and much more serious.

Jack sighed. "It's a long story."

* * *

Night had fallen. Hardly anyone ate anything for dinner. In fact, Josh took his plate up to his room without a word to his parents. Normally, Richard would have prevented it, but with remnants of the morning's heated argument still lingering, he allowed it.

Sometime after ten o'clock, Emma found herself sitting on the couch, staring miserably into the fire. Despite the summer heat, she'd felt an inexplicable chill since they'd left the restaurant nearly thirty-six hours ago. She had no clue why, but she just couldn't shake the cold feeling. At her request, Richard had started a fire in the fireplace. Truth be told, she wasn't really _that_ cold, but she always enjoyed watching the flames and embers. It allowed her the chance to drift away into her thoughts. With the crackling flames giving a comfortable blanket of heat and providing her with a mesmerizing image to lose herself in, she was about as sane and content as she could possibly be at the moment.

Her tears had stopped; she'd just about cried herself dry for the time being, but her mind was still numb from what had happened. How could things have gone so wrong so quickly? One moment, she and her husband were talking with another couple, laughing about something that she couldn't even remember now. And then...with no warning, people began getting up one-by-one and rushing to the other side of the room. Perhaps one of the children had fallen and was seriously hurt, but when she and Richard had finally decided to join the action and head over to see for themselves, that was when she heard screaming coming from the back room. In a split second, before the other children began to panic, she recognized one of the screams as her daughter's. With a sense of dread she hadn't felt in a long time, she practically sprinted into the back room with Richard hot on her trail. She remembered her joy when she saw all three of her children safe, but the image of that man's body on the ground drowned her short-lived relief back into the sea of dread that had engulfed her.

Her children had been the only ones to see it...along with that other girl. That was probably the worst part about it all. On one hand, she was happy that she didn't have to witness something that horrific herself again, but on the other hand, what kind of good mother wishes that her children be the ones to take her place in the scenario? Was she really so willing to avoid reliving her own childhood trauma that she would rather sacrifice her children's wellbeing to make it so? Beneath the fear and other feelings of helplessness, a deep sense of guilt began to engulf her. How could she be so selfish? Her children were more delicate to her than they would ever know, and she would never wish anything scarring upon them.

_I would rather it be me...wouldn't I?_

She continued watching the flames dancing in the fireplace. She sighed in content. After processing so many thoughts and emotions in the last few hours, she hadn't realized how tired she was. Her chill finally seemed to be leaving her as the warmth from the fire finally began to settle and her eyelids continued to get heavier.

 _She was running down a dark hallway as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't know what she was running from...if she was even running from anything. Maybe it was_ to _something._

_She stopped for a moment to catch her breath. When she rested her hand on the wall, she noticed that her hand didn't even reach the bottom of the bulletin board in the hall. Looking down at herself, she saw that she was wearing a light red dress with buckled shoes, one of her mother's choice outfits for her._

_She was a child._

_"Emma!" came a familiar voice down the hall. Looking ahead, she saw a figure about her height coming from the darkness. She had dark hair and was wearing a light blue T-shirt and blue pants. Her eyes were bright and her smile was wide._

_Emma smiled back. "Cassidy!"_

_"Come on!" Cassidy said as she waved her hand in a summoning motion._

_Emma followed her friend through the wall of darkness and a familiar setting took shape around them. The blanket of silence that had been looming around her like a void was suddenly broken by the sounds of music and laughing children. She saw a room filled with children, all around her age, sitting at tables eating pizza and running around with their friends. There was a merry-go-round playing a jaunty tune in the middle of the room. On stage, there were three animatronics singing and moving in time with the music: Bonnie the bunny, Chica the chicken, and Freddy Fazbear himself._

_Emma smiled. She was home._

" _Emma, over here!" called Cassidy from the other side of the merry-go-round._

_Peering through one of the cracks, Emma saw her friend waving her over. She began moving along the side when she was interrupted by two of her other friends running toward the ride in front of her. As they approached, one of them tripped and fell. The other took his place on one of the horses._

" _And Carlton wins again!" he announced, holding up a fist in the air victoriously._

" _That's not fair!" Marla protested as she got up. "I fell!"_

" _All is fair in love and war," replied Carlton._

" _Eww! We're not in love!"_

" _I know. It's something my dad tells my mom a lot whenever she gets mad at him for beating her to the last slice of leftover pizza. She gets so mad and gives him this really mad look. It's really funny!"_

_Marla glared at him. He laughed._

" _Yeah, like that!"_

_Emma approached where she'd seen Cassidy only moments before, but she was no longer there._

" _Cassidy?" she called out._

" _Over here, Emma!"_

_Cassidy was standing near the stage, waving her friend over._

" _They're playing your favorite song!" she said._

_Immediately, her favorite song, Sing, Little Children, began playing in its usual simplified rendition. Bonnie was moving his hands up and down, Chica's eyes were constantly moving back and forth as she sang, and Freddy's hand was waving back and forth._

_Emma felt her body swaying to the tune back and forth as it always did. She liked the beat and rhythm of the song, not that she knew what they were. As the tune picked up sound and Freddy began singing, her dance became more elaborate and exaggerated. She heard Cassidy giggle beside her._

_The animatronics sang and moved together, their fur glistening in the lights. Freddy's eyes turned to look directly at Emma, causing her to stop dancing. He kept singing, giving the impression that he was singing to her. She blushed and averted her gaze onto one of the others, a yellow rabbit standing just behind Bonnie. Weird: she hadn't seen him before._

" _Cassidy, do you know who that is?" she asked. No answer. She turned to see that her friend was no longer by her side. "Cassidy?" She turned back to the stage and saw that it was once again just the familiar trio on stage. The yellow rabbit was no longer there._

" _Cassidy?" she called out into the crowd. "Cassidy?" How could she have been standing next to her one moment and then gone the next?_

_Seeing no sign of her friend, Emma began scanning the crowd, searching for anything resembling Cassidy's appearance. With no luck, she began moving as best as she could through the other kids, which wasn't easy. Some were sitting at tables, eating and laughing, while others were off on their own adventures with their friends, completely oblivious to her attempts to locate her missing friend._

_After a few minutes,_ _she saw two of her classmates. One of them was wearing a light pink blouse with a matching skirt with white tennis shoes. The other was wearing a light blue shirt and blue jeans with a pair of red tennis shoes. While she wasn't close friends with either of them, she knew them, just like everyone in their first-grade class knew each other. They were talking about something as she approached._

_"Charlie, Jessica. Did you see where Cassidy went?"_

_They looked at each other for a moment before they both shook their heads._

_"Wasn't she with you?" asked Charlie._

_"She was, but she's gone now. I can't find her."_

_"Maybe she went to the bathroom. Maybe John saw her. He just went to the bathroom, too," said Jessica, smirking. "I told him not to drink that whole bottle of water!"_

_"Okay, thanks," said Emma, annoyed at the unnecessary information as she trotted over to the bathrooms._

_"Hey, Emma!" called a voice from a nearby table. It was another one of her classmates, dressed rather elegantly for the occasion in a nice oversized dress shirt. "You okay? You look like you lost something."_

_"I'm just looking for Cassidy."_

_"Oh. Well, I don't know where she is."_

_"Yeah, it's okay. Bye, Lamar."_

_She continued to slowly make her way toward the bathrooms, keeping her eyes peeled for her friend, though it was hard to make anyone out in the large crowd. She never liked large crowds. They made her feel uncomfortable as if she was being closed in. The noise was another issue. Given her rather reserved nature, she always preferred smaller quieter places to enjoy herself. Usually, her parents only brought her here during the week in the evenings, but today was a special Saturday, so she figured she would have to tough it out for a day. Still, she always enjoyed coming here. It was what she looked forward to every day._

_Finally, she reached the bathrooms right as John emerged from the boys' room. He was wearing a nice button-up shirt that was wrinkled with the top few buttons undone and part of the hem was untucked. His hair was ruffled and messy, like it had been combed but was disheveled due to rough play. The most amazing part was that even after washing his hands, they still looked like they were as dirty as could be._

_"Hey, John. Have you seen Cassidy?"_

_John tapped his chin in thought. She couldn't help but chuckle at the gesture. He looked like her dad did whenever he was making a big decision. He shook his head._

_"I thought she was with you. Isn't she always with you?"_

_"Yeah, but…"_

_"Wait, isn't that her over there?" he said, pointing._

_Emma turned to the direction of his gaze. At first, she saw nothing in the sea of other kids, but after a few moments of scanning, she recognized her friend's dark hair and blue shirt._

" _Cassidy!" she cried, taking off in that direction. "Thanks, John!" She called back over her shoulder._

_As she continued to close in on Cassidy, she realized that her friend seemed to be getting further away. In fact, she appeared to be walking in a trance-like motion, as if she were following something. It was very strange: Cassidy was always more of an outgoing leader, sometimes dragging Emma to play with other people whom she wasn't really close to. The only time Cassidy ever really followed someone else's directions was if it were a trustworthy adult._

_After finally making it past the crowded merry-go-round, where Carlton and Marla were now having an imaginary race on the horses, Emma noticed that Cassidy was once again gone. Moreover, the door to the back room was swinging slightly like it had just been used._

Did she lose something? _Emma wondered._ Maybe she's looking for the lost-and-found. Maybe I can help her.

_She had never been in the backroom before, and her fears of getting into trouble were present. She considered waiting here for her friend and whoever was with her to emerge. After all, as her mother always told her, nice girls didn't go places that they shouldn't, but her curiosity finally got the better of her. Cautiously, she pushed the door open and walked through._

_The environment was completely different back here. While the main room was filled with noises and lights, back here everything was dim, quiet, and cold. Immediately, she grew scared by the darkness and turned back to the door. But then she stopped herself._

I can't leave without Cassidy, _she thought_. Mom said that everything is still the same when it's dark but you just can't see it. Where's the light switch?

_She reached around along the wall and thankfully found a switch almost immediately. She flipped it up but nothing happened. She tried again. Still nothing._

Why aren't the lights going on?

_She looked around the dark room. All she could make out were a set of shelves a few feet ahead of her and a dim blue light off to the right. Beyond that, there was nothing but darkness. Tears began to fall from her cheeks as her fears returned. What if there was something in the darkness waiting to get her? Like a monster?_

_Then, from somewhere in the darkness came a voice. It was very faint and unintelligible, but she could hear it. It sounded like a girl...a familiar girl._

_Emma took a careful step forward, making sure she didn't hit anything. She took another, and another, gradually gaining confidence with each step, following along the side of the shelf she could still make out. As she walked further into the room, she heard another voice. This was a man's voice, a grown-up. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Cassidy was in good hands and turned back to the door when another thought hit her._

Why would a grown-up be taking her somewhere in the dark?

_A pit dropped in her stomach as she thought back to her stranger-danger talks with her parents and teachers. As she turned around once more into the darkness, something grabbed her arm, causing her to let out a scream. After fighting and fidgeting with the arm for a few moments, the grip loosened and dangled in front of her, making her realize that her "attacker" was nothing more than a metal arm that was hanging from the shelf._

_A set of heavy thudding footsteps echoed nearby. She turned and saw a shadow step between her and the blue light nearby. It stood motionless, and she knew it was staring directly at her. She remained rooted to the spot, trembling, fearing the worst. Would it run at her? She prayed not._

_And then, the shadow began moving backwards very slowly. As it stepped into the light, her heart nearly stopped. It was the yellow rabbit from earlier, only now it looked wrong. Its matted fur was a mess, its head didn't quite sit right on its shoulders, and its ear was a little mangled._

_As it stepped fully into the light, Emma's eyes were drawn to what was in its grip. She let out a gasp. Laying limp in the heavy arms was none other than Cassidy, blood dripping from her mouth and blank eyes staring right back at her friend._

_Emma wanted to start crying, but immediately the giant rabbit opened the door and disappeared with Cassidy inside. Emma ran up to the door as fast as she could and tried to follow, but the doorknob wouldn't budge. She frantically tried pulling on it, but nothing she did made the door move even an inch._

_As she continued trying to force the door open, a chill ran down her spine, giving her the odd sense that there was something else in the room with her. She turned her head slowly._

_Standing a few feet away from her was a dark figure. Its body was twisted and its arms were long. Its torso was partially matted with thick black fur while other parts were bare, showing nothing but bare skin. Its face was shaped like that of a werewolf, like she had seen in one of her fairytale books in school, only this was much more foul than she ever could've imagined. Its eyes were pure white, like they were staring directly into her mind. Her arms, which had begun visibly shaking, fell from the cold doorknob as this thing stared back at her with a smile plastered on its cold, unloving face. It looked like an absolute nightmare._

_And then, without the mouth ever moving, a cold voice spoke inside of her head._

She's gone, Emma, and it's all your fault.

_She heard a scream, and it wasn't until she noticed her mouth open that she recognized that it was her. Suddenly, she was pulled away forcefully. She recognized her mother's grip and her father's angry voice._

" _Wait! Cassidy!" she cried out. "The yellow bunny took Cassidy! Somebody needs to get her!"_

_No one acknowledged her words. In her young brain's vain attempt to control the fear and trauma, she was able to make out people gazing curiously at her before the chaos started and everything became blurred. Tears were gushing out of her eyes now, causing her vision to be reduced to seeing nothing but distorted shapes of people, hearing familiar voices among the everlasting noise of other children becoming frightened._

" _Cassidy?" came the voice of Cassidy's mother. "Where's Cassidy?"_

_She recognized the manager, Charlie's dad, amongst the crowd._

_"Please remain calm, everyone. Charlotte? Where are you?"_

_"Emma, are you okay?"_

_"Why is Emma screaming?"_

_"I have to go back!" she cried, desperately hoping that someone would believe her. "I have to find Cassidy! She's in trouble!"_

_"Cassidy's fine, honey," came her mother's voice. "She's probably off somewhere looking for you. We'll talk to her later. Right now, we're going home, okay?"_

_"NO!" she screamed, trying to wrestle herself out of her mother's grasp, knowing full well that there would be no "later."_

_"Emma, calm down!" said her father in an embarrassed and angry tone. "We're going home."_

_"No, we can't!"_

_"Emma…"_

_"NO!"_

"Emma!"

Her eyes flew open as her husband's shaking ceased. She gazed around the room and took in the familiar setting of their living room. The fire had nearly died down completely. Richard was looking at her with more concern in his eyes than she had ever seen.

"Are you okay? You were shaking and crying. Were you having a bad dream?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into her, sobbing into his shoulder. She felt his comforting hand patting her back as he whispered words of love into her ear.

"It's alright. It was just a nightmare, hon. It's over."

"It wasn't a nightmare," she finally managed to choke out. "It was a memory."

* * *

As Chris drove up to his apartment block, he saw three police cars in the parking lot. Slamming his hand down on the steering wheel in anger, he pulled out his phone and sent his friend a text:

_Plan went awry. Sry for not calling. Spent all day trying to track down target. No luck. Home # compromised. Call cell from now on. Don't wry. I'll be fine._

As he finished his text, he noticed one of the officers stationed outside look over in his direction. With haste, he took off, trying his hardest not to look suspicious as he got out of the area. Glancing in his rearview mirror, he saw that no one was following him and sighed in relief.

 _Of course. Rebecca probably blabbed to them about me_ , he thought bitterly. _Now I'll have to improvise. It's a good thing I deleted that message before I left this morning. Can't have them trying to track him down, too. He doesn't need to be involved in all of this...not with everything he's already been through. I really should call him back. He's probably worried sick. He'll know what to do._

But then he thought back to Josh. He wondered why the new recruit, of all people, would be the one who witnessed the event. Curiosity perhaps? In any case, the young man was certainly becoming increasingly interesting...and might possibly be the answer to his problems.

_Or maybe that return call can wait. I need to get back to the restaurant._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, an update! Once again to any eager readers, my apologies for the delay. As I said, December was a busy month. Also, while I do know the general direction in which I want to go with this story, I'm still working out the best way to get there. That being said, I'm open to suggestions. If anybody has any ideas that I find interesting I'll see if I can work them into the story somehow (with shoutouts, of course).
> 
> Also, for those who caught it: As someone who greatly admires Scott's talents, I simply had to throw the joke in. ;)
> 
> Until next time...stay safe and stay healthy!


	7. Visions in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the middle of the night, the Phillips children each get a hunch about what's going on, and it eventually leads them right back to the source of the trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's another chapter finally. I really wanted to get this one finished much sooner, but the recent snowstorms we've been getting here in Michigan kind of threw a monkey wrench into that plan. Being a laborer, more snow pretty much means more work and less time/motivation to write, but at least spring is only about a month away! Anyway, happy reading, as always.

THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2017, 12:06 AM

_"Hi, you've reached Chris. I'm sorry I missed your call. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you."_

_"AT THE TONE, PLEASE RECORD YOUR MESSAGE. WHEN YOU'VE FINISHED RECORDING, YOU MAY HANG UP OR PRESS 1 FOR MORE OPTIONS."_

BEEP.

 _"Hey, it's me. I got your text. Are you serious? Things went that bad? What happened?_ Did _someone get killed? Please call or text me when you get a chance. Actually, no. Give me a call. We really need to talk this over, and I need to actually hear your voice. I'm tired of sitting around at my desk all day, wearing a happy face for everyone and trying to act calm while waiting for an update. In fact, I'm honestly getting close to coming down there to see things for myself. Please call me, Chris. I'm getting more worried by the minute that everything's gonna go wrong again. Seriously, that awful gut feeling I told you about that I haven't felt in almost twenty years? It's coming back. Talk to you later."_

END OF MESSAGE.

* * *

_Josh was sitting at one of the tables in the break room of the restaurant, eating a delicious pizza. Once things had finally calmed down and the restaurant had reopened, everything returned to normal, or at least as normal as could be. His first shift for the day had gone very smoothly and was completely uneventful, so much so that he honestly couldn't even remember it. All he could think about right now was the slice of pizza he was eating, which apparently was so good that it had numbed his taste buds. Things were well._

_The door opened and Susan burst in. She was dressed in a wet raincoat and her hair was a wet, disheveled mess. Her breathing was sporadic and her eyes were wild._

_"Susan?" he asked, standing up. "What...what's going on?"_

_"It's after me!" she cried. "It's after me!"_

_"Who?" he asked as she dove under one of the tables. He walked over to her. "Who's after you?"_

_A hand grabbed his shoulder and forcefully spun him around. With no time to react, he found himself staring into the glowing eye of the creature. Its mouth, though still painted on, had additional red lines which looked like blood. Its eye was so bright that he felt blinded by it. The grip on his shoulder tightened, preventing him from moving, and the unblinking grew brighter with every passing moment._

_Suddenly, out of nowhere, something small came sailing into view and hit the creature squarely in the face, causing it to double back and release its grip._

" _Leave him alone!" cried Susan. Josh turned and saw her motioning for him to follow. "Josh, come on!"_

_They ran out of the room and into the main room. It was empty. Even the animatronics were gone, leaving the stage completely deserted._

" _What-what happened here?"_

" _We have to go!" cried Susan as they heard the stamping of footsteps behind them._

_They ran across the room, trying to put as much distance between them and their hunter as possible. Susan approached the door to the backroom and flung it open._

" _Come on!" she cried, gesturing him forward._

_He wanted to protest, feeling uneasy about reentering the area where everything went to hell earlier, but the pounding behind him left him no other choice._

_They ran to the nearest door, the same one he remembered his younger siblings hiding in, and they thrust themselves inside. Darkness immediately overcame them, drowning out all sources of light._

" _Hold on," said Susan, and Josh heard her hand rubbing against the wall. "Here."_

_There was a flick of a switch and the room flooded with light. As Josh looked around the room, he was immediately greeted by a stunning sight. Huddled on the floor, bound tightly and gagged, was a little boy about ten years old. He was struggling to free himself, kicking his bound legs around ferociously, almost kicking Susan in the process._

" _Who is this?" she asked._

_Josh bent down and tried to calm the boy's nerves._

" _Hey, it's okay. We'll help you."_

_He grabbed the boy's shoulder. The boy stopped and looked up, and Josh let out a gasp of disbelief as he stared into an eerily familiar blue-eyed freckled face._

" _C-Cameron?"_

_Cameron's eyes watered and he began to make weeping sounds behind his gag._

" _Wait, is this the boy who was taken by that...thing?" asked Susan._

_Josh nodded. "Yeah, it is."_

_"But that's impossible! There's no way he could be alive...is there?"_

_Josh opened his mouth only to be interrupted by a loud scraping sound. Turning around, he saw that the door behind them was no longer there. Instead, standing in the doorway, was the figure, its eye glowing brighter than ever as it lunged for Josh's throat._

Josh jolted upright, his hands going for his neck in an attempt to pry the cold metal fingers off, only there were no fingers. Still breathing heavily, he looked around frantically, trying to get a bearing on what was going on. After a few seconds of scanning the darkness, he was able to make out a few familiar objects in what he now recognized as being his own bedroom.

With a heavy sigh of relief, he plopped his head down onto his pillow and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Even with his window cracked, the heat was still stronger than what he was used to. With not even two full weeks of their new life on the books, his body was still adjusting to the extra heat of being a few states further south.

He turned to his alarm clock. It read 12:15 AM. He scoffed in disbelief. After a nightmare like that, it would be a while before he would be able to fall back to sleep, which meant he was looking at a rough night.

With nothing else to do, he began replaying his dream in his mind. It felt so real. Granted, dreams usually feel real while they're actually happening, but he was amazed at how accurate everything was in this one. From the layout of the building, Susan's face, that creature, and its menacing appearance, to Cameron and all of his facial features. He remembered looking down at the terrified form of his sister's best friend, weakened and restrained...yet alive.

_"There's no way he could be alive...is there?"_

Those were Susan's words, and they were familiar. It wasn't in his dream where he'd heard it first, he'd heard her say it before. Thinking back, he recognized the phrase from their phone call yesterday. Could that have been what triggered his dream, or could there be truth to it?

_Come to think of it, I never actually saw any blood coming from Cameron's body. Only some kind of weird black liquid, but with how dirty it is back there, that could be anything._

He sat upright in his bed, his breathing growing more intense as the possibility grew in probability. _He may still be alive. If he is, I can find him. That'll show Mom that I really do care. Plus, it'll make his parents happier than ever._

He swung his legs off of his bed and set to dressing himself quietly. The last thing he wanted right now was for his parents to catch him leaving. They wouldn't understand...not yet.

After throwing on a pair of pants and a T-shirt, he walked over and quietly crept out into the dark hallway. Now all he needed was a way to get back there.

* * *

Kendall laid in his bed staring at the ceiling. He couldn't even try to sleep. His eyes simply would not let him. All he could think about was that pale face with that glowing eye staring at him. Every time he tried to keep his eyes closed, that scarring image filled his vision and he would immediately open them again, certain he would see it above him.

He glanced at his clock. It was a quarter after midnight. He anticipated life as a teenager when he could actually stay up late without consequence, or at least with fewer consequences. His brother made it look so easy, so fun...even if he was a jerk half of the time.

But now, everything was different. He wanted nothing more than to go to sleep, let everything fade away, and wake up on a beautiful sunny morning with Cameron knocking on the front door asking for his sister. Olivia may be young, but he couldn't help but feel that she and Cameron were right for each other, or at least they would've been. Unlike her siblings, Cameron actually liked playing with her. He had a patience and humility that Kendall did not, and the shame caused by their last exchange of words panged once more in his chest.

 _If only I hadn't said that,_ Kendall thought miserably. _If only I had gone with him to look for his cane._ _If only I knew what that thing is and how to stop it..._

With his body still too awake and nothing else to do, he pulled his book on robotics out from beneath his pillow and began skimming through the pages, trying to look for anything that might be useful.

 _This thing has to be animatronic_ , he thought. _I mean, it looks and moves like it's alive, but its eye can't possibly be glowing unless it's some kind of machine._

He flipped through the pages on endoskeleton design, materials used to create certain parts of the inner structure, and even how the computer inside operates, giving all animatronics their A.I. He knew all of it was important, but he was looking for one thing specifically.

_There has to be an on/off switch somewhere. There has to be._

He continued flipping through the pages, scanning every heading and diagram until at last, he found a page titled "Emergency Safe Mode."

"Bingo," he said aloud as he began to read.

_As robotic technology continues to advance, some engineers and mechanics began to install failsafes to help prevent any severe and potentially fatal malfunctions within the parts, sensors, or computer...In 2014, a University of Iowa student named Michael D. Schmidt was injured by an animatronic which had struck him across the body due to a hidden glitch inside the robot's spatial recognition software. Given that there was no failsafe on this particular animatronic, it took authorities nearly 45 minutes to stop the machine...Nevertheless, as a result of the lawsuit, all animatronics built as of 2015 are now required by law in many states to contain this new Emergency Safe Mode (ESM)...ESM is automatically activated by a sensor in the computer which, when critical errors are detected, activates spring locks specifically designed to lock onto the joints to prevent movement while the computer reboots. Until the reboot is complete, the animatronic will remain off and motionless...If it ever necessary to activate ESM manually, most animatronics will contain a switch or button on or near the back of the head or neck. In the event of a malfunction that automatic ESM does not detect, approach the animatronic from behind (assuming that it is safe to do so) and activate ESM by hand...Note that because of the spring locks and system reboot, the animatronic will NOT be movable or usable for approximately thirty minutes._

That was the end of the section. Kendall stared up at his wall, absorbing the information as best as he could. According to this, if the animatronics were all new, including the mysterious masked one, they should have this emergency failsafe installed into their system. While the very thought of seeing that creature again after what had happened made his nerves go haywire, he knew that it would always be out there, looking for more children to kidnap and kill. At least now if it ever came after him, he would know how to stop it...hopefully.

He grabbed the page to flip it and continue reading when a sound came from outside his bedroom. It sounded eerily like someone walking.

_What is that?_

* * *

_Olivia walked down the carpeted hall, which tickled her bare feet, to her parents' bedroom. She was having trouble sleeping and wanted nothing more than her mother's kiss and soothing voice and her father's jokes about how the monsters were so ugly that they were probably just mad that they couldn't get a date to the prom._

_She found the door and lifted her hand to knock on it, which felt lighter than normal, almost like a feather. She knocked a few times on the door, hoping to hear her mother ask, "Olivia? What's wrong, sweetie?" She heard nothing. She knocked again, and still nothing. She turned the doorknob and pushed the door open quietly, wondering at that moment why they even had the door closed, to begin with. They usually kept it open._

_She saw the familiar lump underneath the covers. She approached her mother's side of the bed and gently shook the covers._

_"Mom?" she said quietly. The lump moved slightly but fell limp. "Mom?" she said, slightly louder and more forcefully. "Mom, I can't sleep."_

_The covers rose. Olivia moved forward into her mother's embrace as a hand draped out for her. However, it wasn't the soft touch she was hoping for, but rather a hard, metal grip that wrapped around the girl's waist and nearly crushed her against the side of the bed. From underneath the covers came the familiar, glowing white eye._

_She screamed. The face recoiled as though shocked. The grip slackened. Using the same tactic she used against her brothers, she crouched and slipped through the grasp. As soon as she was free, she ran for the door._

_"Olivia!"_

_She stopped dead in her tracks. That voice. Could it really be…? She turned around._

_The creature was no longer there. Laying in its place, face anguished and eyes leaking, was Cameron. His hand was stretched out toward her._

" _Don't leave me!"_

_She ran toward him but tripped on the carpet, landing face-first into the soft cushion of the bed._

She lifted her face from the bed's tender touch, ready to embrace Cameron, only to see her own pillow that was covered in sweat. Looking around, she saw that she was in her own bedroom. Looking out the window, she saw the darkened outline of the tree that Kendall liked reading next to, its bark faintly illuminated by the dim light of the neighbor's shed lamp. Sometimes, she would try to look for squirrels running up and down the tree, trying to get a midnight snack, but right now, she wanted nothing more than her mother's comfort. Getting out of bed, she strode over to her door and pulled it open, stepping out into the dark hall.

She had no idea what time it was, but she knew that it was late at night. She always hated being up late at night because her parents told her that little children shouldn't be wandering around in the dark because that was when the bad people of the world were out and about. She knew she was safe at home, but it still scared her knowing that there were bad things in the dark.

She looked up at the clock on the wall. It was a fancy analog clock with a cool trim that her dad's mother had given him before she died. The little hand was just past the twelve at the top and the big hand was on the three. Olivia shook her head. She wished that she could tell time. She had no idea how long it would be until morning.

Just like in the dream, her parents' bedroom door was closed. She stood in silence, her legs shaking as she wondered what she would find on the other side of the door. Only minutes ago, she'd walked this same hall and entered this room to be met with something she never thought she would. Would this change?

 _It was only a dream_ , she thought. _Mommy said that she's always there to talk about it._

She raised her hand to the door when she heard movement behind her. She froze, the butterflies in her stomach racing around again. In her mind, she imagined a dark figure standing behind her, watching her intently from the shadows. She didn't want to turn around, but she eventually decided that she couldn't resist.

At first, she saw nothing but a dark, empty hallway. Things were quiet, aside from the ticking coming from the clock on the wall, but as she listened more closely, she could hear a soft rustling coming from nearby. Her heart sank as she leaned back against her parents' door.

 _Cameron?_ she thought hopefully. Maybe part of her dream could be true after all. Maybe he was okay and was looking for her.

But as quickly as the thought had popped into her head, she could see a tall silhouette in the darkness. She almost let out a shriek but managed to stop herself by covering her mouth. The figure stopped in the middle of the hallway. She saw the head turn in her direction. It stayed in place for a few moments, as if pondering something. Olivia's breathing became ragged as she forced herself to keep quiet. After a moment, the figure turned back and disappeared slowly down the stairs, leaving the hallway as quiet as before.

 _Is that the monster?_ she thought, remembering its frightening face and ghastly posture. She shuddered as she recalled the glowing eye looking at her as it held her friend's body.

And then another thought hit her: _Where's the glowing eye?_

She took a step forward. There was nothing but calm silence. Another step. Silence. A third. Silence. A fourth. Silence. A fifth…

Something suddenly bumped into her side from the darkness, causing her to let out a small shriek which was abruptly stopped by a hand clamping over her mouth.

"Shh! Calm down, it's me!" came Kendall's voice in a loud whisper. "What are you doing up?"

"I had a nightmare," she said. "What are you doing up?"

"Midnight reading," said Kendall, his face becoming clearer in the darkness. "I'm having trouble sleeping lately. I thought I heard a noise."

"I saw somebody," said Olivia. "Walking down the hall!"

Kendall turned to the stairs. At that moment, they could hear something from directly below them.

"Who is that?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know," said Kendall. "Come on. Let's find out."

"What if it's a burglar?" she said in a worried voice, but her brother was already walking toward the stairs. She followed suit, her breaths coming out in anxious puffs. He tapped her on the shoulder and motioned down the stairs. Slowly, they crept down each step one-at-a-time, being careful to make as little noise as possible. When they reached the bottom, they were startled by a loud snort.

The living room was dark; the lamp had been turned off and the fire had died out, however, thanks to the light shining in from the nearby streetlamp, they could see their parents cuddled together on the couch, fast asleep and completely oblivious to what was going on.

That's when they heard a noise coming from the kitchen. Olivia whimpered but Kendall shushed her with a finger to his lips. Immediately afterward, a shadow emerged from the kitchen. Kendall and Olivia hid in the shadows on the stairs as it passed. It opened the front door slowly and quietly before looking back and checking the environment. Thanks to the light, Kendall and Olivia were finally able to make out their older brother's face. After a few moments, he slipped out the door, shutting it quietly behind him.

"What's he doing?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know," said Kendall. They peeked out the window next to the door and saw him unlocking and entering their father's car. A second later, the engine started.

"He can't drive by himself yet! He's only got his learning thingy!" said Olivia. "He'll get in trouble. Where's he going?"

Remembering the heated argument from yesterday afternoon, Kendall got a strong hunch.

"Grab your coat. I think I know."

* * *

Josh froze with his hand inches away from the keys to his father's car hanging from the key rack. Even in his newfound determination to make things right (or so he hoped), he still was unsure whether he really wanted to go as far as taking his father's car without permission. He was already in hot enough water with his mother. Was this really worth it?

His hand drew away slightly as he considered the repercussions. What would his father say? What if the police caught him? Would he be put in jail _and_ grounded for life?

_This is stupid. I can't…_

As he turned back to go back upstairs and forget the whole thing, his mind flashed back to seeing Cameron tied up and terrified at his feet. It was a dream, but there was something about this dream that felt so real. He couldn't put his finger on it, but every moment that passed only seemed to increase that awful gut feeling that there was more to the story than simply another missing child. From the depths of the mystery, something was telling him that Cameron needed help.

_I have to. I'll apologize later if I must, but I have to get there somehow. If only my bus route still ran this late._

He turned back and grabbed the keys from the rack. As he tiptoed past his parents, who were fast asleep on the couch, he felt something lodge in his throat. It felt so wrong, but he fought against it. If Cameron was alive somewhere…

. _..he needs to be found._

He opened the door quietly, careful not to make any excessive noise. He turned his head back toward his parents, checking for any sign of movement. When everything remained silent, he turned and entered the heated night air, shutting the door behind him.

As he approached his father's car, he took note of the bright moon illuminating the night sky. He hadn't even noticed that before. He remembered when he was a kid, he thought it was a pepperoni pizza that was missing its color. He smiled.

_I guess we all were that naive when we were young._

Using the fab, he unlocked the car and entered it, once again taking care to be as quiet as possible when shutting the door. He stuck the key into the ignition and listened to the engine come to life. He'd heard that noise countless times before, but never in circumstances like this. He wondered what it would feel like when he finally got to start his own car one day. Hopefully much better than how he felt right now.

He shifted into reverse and began peeling back in the driveway, checking over his shoulder carefully in the driveway as he had learned to do in his days of driving with his father in the passenger seat. Still, he hadn't gotten any drive time since they'd moved with how busy they'd been. He only hoped that he wouldn't accidentally damage the car when he turned onto the road.

As he cut the wheel, a bump jolted through the vehicle, followed by a large clank. Gazing out his side-view mirror, he saw that he had hit the curb.

"Great," he said. He stopped the car and propped open the door. As he started to walk toward the back, a sound came from behind him...the sound of frantic footsteps. He turned around, expecting to see someone out for a midnight stroll who was going to ask him if he was alright, but he didn't see anyone. Brushing it off as paranoia, he resumed his inspection.

The tire was fine, but he couldn't tell if anything underneath the car was damaged or not. With how old this car was getting, wear and tear were relatively normal, but he still didn't wish to chance anything to make the situation worse by doing any major damage. As he tried his best to check for anything unusual via his phone's dim flashlight, he wished that Tyler was here, one of his friends from back home who was looking to take over his dad's mechanic shop one day.

_He'd know what to do._

Unfortunately, it was too dark to make anything out. With a sigh, Josh resigned himself to having to take the chance, keeping his fingers crossed that the car wouldn't die on him for any reason on the way there. He stood up and got back into the car. He closed the door with an abnormally loud slam, almost as if two doors were being closed at once. He saw no lights on the dashboard indicating that a door was ajar, so what could've caused that?

 _Focus_ , he told himself, shaking his head in an effort to brush off his nerves. _You're getting worked up about nothing. Focus on the mission at hand._

Not wanting to waste another moment, he put the car into drive and began his journey. His hands were shaking as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. It was his first time ever driving through this neighborhood. He'd been given adequate driving experience in his old neighborhood, and of course, he was relatively familiar with the layout of this new one, but the combination of driving in a new neighborhood was slightly more challenging than he anticipated, especially at night.

As he practically slammed on the brakes after nearly missing his first turn, he cursed himself and tried to keep his attention on what he was doing. He thought back to what he'd seen in his dream. Typically, dreams always felt real while they were happening, and it wasn't until after waking up that the absurdities of it became clear. But there was something different about this dream. Replaying it in his mind, everything seemed so... _accurate_. The glowing eye of the beast, Susan's facial features and loud voice, and even the fine details of Cameron's face. It felt real, every part of it.

 _But what if it isn't true? What if it really was a dream? What if you're just driving around illegally in the darkness for nothing?_ The thought made him feel queasy. Despite all of the times he'd threatened to take the car out for a spin himself in response to his father's denial for some accompanied drive time, and as tempting as it really was sometimes, he'd never believed that he would actually do it.

He grunted angrily, trying to push his doubts from his mind. _But what if it IS true? If Cameron really is alive somewhere, I can find him and all will be forgiven. If not, it's early enough. I should be back before anyone notices...hopefully. I just need to check that back area again. Surely he would be back there._

He passed the familiar Amoco gas station, he noticed that the A wasn't lighting up. He thought back to his second day on the job, only a few days ago (though it felt much longer), when he had to change a few bulbs in one of the spotlights for the stage. He remembered Susan telling him that if he fell, she wasn't going to catch him since he was too heavy. He also remembered Chris watching him from the corner with a slight smirk on his face.

_Chris._

Josh's fists clenched tightly on the wheel. If there was one thing his mother had said that he agreed with, it's that he should've done something about Chris when he had the chance.

_I should've confronted him somehow. He seemed so off like he didn't belong there. And now thanks to him, a child is missing. Well, if I'll find him. He won't get away with this._

As he rounded the corner ahead, he could see the building in the distance. It looked so different without any lights on, but it was still recognizable, a tall, black silhouette against the starry night sky. After nearly forgetting to use his turn signal, he pulled into the parking lot.

There was police tape strewn across the entrance, which he'd expected. He figured there would be repercussions after the incident, such as an investigation and a lockdown. Still, there had to be some way inside.

"Are we there yet?" came a soft whisper from behind the seat. Recognizing it, Josh's eyes went wide. He immediately got out of the car and opened the door to the backseat, where he was met with the sight of his pajama-clad siblings wearing lightweight jackets.

"What are you two idiots doing here?!" he shouted.

"We followed you," said Kendall, helping his sister out. "And _this_ one almost gave us away about three times on the way here."

"We want to save Cameron, too!" said Olivia.

Josh's mouth opened and closed in silent rage. His plan was already risky enough as it was, but to add his two younger siblings to the mix was practically suicidal.

"You two shouldn't be here," he said in a low voice.

"Well, neither should you," said Kendall, giving his brother a smug look. He was wearing that smile he always did whenever he knew he had the upper hand against his older brother. "Hmm...let's see, taking Dad's car without permission and driving illegally with only a learner's permit and no adult in the car. How long will Josh get grounded for this one? Place your bets now!"

Josh huffed and his fists were clenched. He hated that look. "If you tell them anything, I swear…"

"You'll do what?" said Kendall, raising his eyebrows. "Give me a black eye again? I'm pretty sure that would qualify as 'making matters worse' with Mom and Dad, wouldn't you say?"

Josh's rage was boiling. He wanted nothing more than to knock that stupid grin off of his brother's face, but he knew deep down that it wouldn't end well for him. He groaned.

"What do you want?"

Kendall tapped his chin. "Well, for one thing, I would love to be able to do my reading in peace and quiet without any insults."

Josh sighed but nodded. "Okay. What else?"

"And there _is_ a new book on computers that I saw an ad for on Saturday, and since you have a little bit of money now..."

Josh grunted. It was only two days' wages which he was hoping he could take Susan out to dinner with, assuming he mustered up the courage. Kendall's face, however, didn't change.

"Fine. As soon as I get paid, whenever that is. Anything else?"

Kendall's smile grew wider. "Well, Mom's been getting on me lately about spending too much time reading and not enough time cleaning my room. Think you can help me out for a month or two?"

Josh said nothing. His stormy eyes were locked with his brother's gleeful ones. His anger was nearly incomprehensible at the moment, but he had no choice if he wanted to avoid more trouble.

"Fine. If you don't say anything to Mom and Dad, or anybody else, I'll clean your room for you, too. Okay?"

Kendall pondered for a moment, studying his brother's face for sincerity, before deciding that it would most likely work out. He nodded and they shook hands.

"Now let's go home before we all get in trouble," he said as he approached the car.

"But what about Cameron?" Olivia asked.

Kendall turned to her. "What about him?"

"We can't just leave him here!"

Kendall frowned. "He's gone, 'Liv, to the place where no one comes back. Remember when we saw Grandma sleeping in that fancy box?"

Olivia grimaced. "It's a coffin. I know she died. My friends told me."

"Fine. Well, Cameron's dead. You saw it, too."

"But what if he's not dead? What if that thing just took him away and he wants to get back?"

Kendall shook his head. "Olivia…he can't…"

Olivia turned to Josh. "Tell him, Josh! Tell him that's why we're here! To save him!"

Josh looked at his little sister absolutely dumbfounded.

"How did you know I was…?"

"We saw you getting ready to leave," said Kendall, "so we figured we'd come along for the ride. All I wanted was the chance to get some leverage on you after all these years. I don't know what Olivia's talking about."

Josh turned back to his sister. "How did you know I was here for Cameron?"

"Why else would you come here?" asked Olivia.

"Why did _you_ want to come here?"

"I had a dream about him. He said he needed help. I think maybe he's in there! That's why you came, right Josh?"

Josh couldn't speak. He had no clue how his sister ended up following his idea from her own perspective. It was beyond crazy as if there were something more going on than two individuals coincidentally getting the same idea from a dream.

"I don't think so, 'Liv," said Kendall. "I mean, I want Cameron to still be alive as much as you do, but you saw what happened the other day."

"You don't know that he's dead!" Olivia shouted, her voice startling the boys. "Maybe he was just hurt or asleep. Maybe that _thing_ did something to him."

Kendall shook his head. He turned to Josh. "I don't know about her sometimes. You know how she gets with these fantasies of hers."

For once, Josh didn't immediately agree. As he watched Olivia cross her arms in anger, he thought back to how well she and Cameron bonded. While he still didn't know how she had so perfectly fallen in line with his idea, he completely understood why she was so insistent to find her friend. When she looked down at the ground in sadness, he felt a pang in his heart, one that he hadn't felt for his little sister in a long time.

"Don't worry," he told her. "We'll find him."

She smiled and embraced him in a hug.

"What?!" said Kendall, aghast. "Josh, there's no way-"

"She's right, you know," said Josh, grinning. "You don't know everything, you little brainiac."

Kendall's face retorted in disgust. "Cameron-"

"We don't know exactly what we saw," said Josh. "It sounds crazy, but I really do think that Cameron's alive, somehow."

Kendall looked back and forth between his brother and sister, convinced without a doubt that they'd both lost their minds. Olivia he could understand, but Josh?

"Don't you want to find Cameron, too?" said Olivia. "Don't you want him to be okay?"

Kendall wanted to argue, but as he thought back to Cameron's pale, empty face, his remorse returned. Of course, he wanted Cameron to be alive, as they all did. He would love for Cameron to be inside somewhere, injured and shaken but okay, but he struggled to combine that desire with his understanding of reality. Given his studies of the body and its functions, he had no comprehension of what caused a person's eyes to leak black, but he'd seen enough deceased people in documentaries to have his doubts about Cameron's survival.

Still, if it made Olivia feel better, perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Okay, we'll check it out," he said, "but we're not staying long."

"Yeah, no kidding," said Josh.

"We're gonna save Cameron?" Olivia asked excitedly.

"We're gonna try," said Josh. "Now come on. First we need to find a way in."

* * *

Chris walked softly through the main room. He had a feeling that the place would be on some kind of lockdown, but this was just ridiculous. Sealed doors? Everyone was looking for _him_ , and as far as they were concerned, he was somewhere else. There didn't seem to be a point in completely locking the building down using the new security system, unless...

_Rebecca. Of course._

He reached the hallway behind the front desk and double checked the cameras. There was one above the desk looking outward toward the door. It wasn't really a problem. The camera he was concerned about was the one on the side along the side wall, which looked toward the desk and beyond. With fingers crossed that there was no one in the security center, he made a quick dash for the hallway. When nothing happened, he gave a small sigh of relief, though his nerves were still high. He still had no idea what he was supposed to be looking for, and with his name most likely in the mud, he already felt as though he had an army of bloodhounds on his heels.

Derek's office was locked, as it usually was since he was never there much to begin with. Christ approached Rebecca's door, expecting another tight door handle that wouldn't budge, but to his great surprise and delight, the door was cracked open slightly. Slowly, he pushed it open, causing an irritating creaking sound.

The office was a mess, quite unlike its usual tidy self. There were boxes in the corner and stacks of paper covering chairs and the desk. Additionally, there was a digital copy of a blueprint on her computer screen. As he got closer to examine it, he scoffed with disbelief.

 _So this is where she's been keeping it,_ he thought. _No wonder I could never find it._

He grabbed the mouse and began scrolling around the page. It looked like the schematics for some kind of robot, though unlike anything he'd seen in his secret discoveries in the back rooms. This robot was larger and with many less informative labels and terminology, making the whole thing seem much more vague and mysterious.

Scrolling through the schematic, he noticed a rather unusual marking near the robot's center where the heart should be. Zooming in, he saw that it looked like some sort of container resembling a battery. Next to it, small and barely noticeable, read a single word:

RESURGENCE.

Chris covered his mouth, his brain beginning to make connections he never imagined.

_It can't be related, can it? There's no way it has anything to do with…_

His thoughts were interrupted by a thump from outside. He froze, eyes locked on the door, ready to tackle whoever...or whatever...came in.

But nothing did. The silent darkness that had permeated the atmosphere all along continued. After a minute's silence, Chris decided that he should continue his search elsewhere. He took a quick picture of the screen with his phone and immediately sent it to his worried friend along with a message.

_Check this out. It's worse than we thought. I'll keep u posted._

He got up from the chair. He strode around the desk and made his way for the door when something in his peripheral vision stopped him.

It was a file centered on the desk at which he had just been sitting. Even upside down, the red letters printed diagonally on it were unmistakable.

AFTON.

Heart pounding, Chris reached out to open the file when a hand grabbed his shoulder. He felt a small prick in his neck which was followed by an awful stinging sensation. He opened his mouth to yelp in pain, but no sound came out. In fact, his entire body went numb. Before he could turn around to identify his attacker, he fell to the ground in a limp mess, his vision fading away rapidly.

"Sorry, Chris," came a soft, very familiar voice in his ear, "but you know what they say about curiosity and the cat."


End file.
